A Long Walk Home
by BHBrowne
Summary: Ten years ago, Clementine left Lee to turn in Savannah. Ten years of brutality, anarchy and unspeakable horrors. At nineteen, Clementine is returning to Savannah. To help her friend one last time.
1. Chapter One - Memories

A/N :

Hey everyone! So this is my first ever FanFiction - hopefully it's not _too_ horrible to read.

I'm a little nervous to share this on the public domain, as I'm very critical of my work. But I figured it wouldn't hurt to share this, especially with a fandom as awesome as this!

Feel free to review, I'll do my best to read every single one.

I truly hope you all enjoy this first chapter!

\- BHBrowne

Edit - 22:35 GMT, 28/06/2016 :

Hey! So, I'm reworking this story and making it easier to read - Kind of like a remaster, I guess, but less dramatic than that. I'll be updating the past chapters throughout the week with little changes here and there. Figured I'd start on the chapter I was most nervous about uploading!

 ** _Act One : Introduction_**

Added a few words to the flashback about the dog bite, so that it reads more similarly to what is actually said in _All That Remains_. It now reads as:

 _"You tellin' the truth?" the eleven year old looks hurt that he'd ask that. "You look me in the eyes, when you answer me."_

 _"Yes." Clementine looks as confident as she can as her arm sears, making eye contact with the man. Pete deliberates for a few moments, before letting his face break into a smile._

" _Hmm... Well, all right Clementine. That's good enough for me." Pete says, holding out his hand. Clementine takes it gratefully, and he helps her up._

" _You've got to be kidding me!" Luke sounds incredulous, throwing his hands up in the air. "What else was she going to say?"_

 _"Luke, you need to -" the oldest of the three speaks up as Clementine hugs herself, but Luke cuts him off._

I also changed some wording for the following line, so that it reads as I wanted it to from the get go.

" _I'm not gonna let a little girl die in the woods, if we have a doctor with us who can make a call. We can let him take a look at her." Pete states, firm in his belief._

The flashback to Luke reassuring Clem at the ski lodge has also been given a little bit of love, so that Clementine requires just a little more coaxing to trust her older buddy (I really loved writing the sibling dynamic between eleven year old Clem and twenty six year old Luke) :

 _"You're not lying, right?" she mumbles, watching her older friend with a careful eye.  
_

 _"No, 'course not." Luke bluffs, pulling his best poker face. The young girl scrutinises him for a few seconds, frowning ever so slightly._

 _"Promise?" she searches his eyes for deceit, and the farm boy can't help but feel sorry for the little girl. Having to figure out if her friend is lying to her about something so serious.  
_

 _"Promise." he assures her gently, hoping that the little girl will give him the benefit of the doubt._

 ** _Act Two : The National Park_**

This one was pretty much how I wanted it. I only changed a few words around and added some others, such as:

 _"Heh, this reminds me of how jumpy Nick was when we first moved out, back in nineteen -"_

 _"Fair enough." he laughs softly. "I doubt it's anything serious. It's been quiet last couple a' days besides the walkers from earlier, so don't worry."_

 ** _Act Three : Bedding Down_**

Again, much like Act Two, I'm pretty happy with how well Three read. Only changed a few bits here and there.

The main thing I changed, honestly, was making sure the flashback to Lee on the RV is consistent with later events in the story:

" _I'm glad I have you, though." Lee looks down at her and smiles. Clementine smiles shyly back._

" _Me, too." she tells him, keeping her voice quiet to not disturb Kenny._

Another thing I changed was the certainty Luke originally exhibited about their whereabouts, and made it a bit more real in my mind.

 _"Well, we're still in North Carolina. 'Least, I think so." he looks uncertain, pointing at a location near the sea on his map. Clementine looks at it with undivided attention. "No, yeah, we're in North Carolina."_

 _"That's not too far away." the nineteen year old rubs her forehead, smiling ever so slightly._

 _"Yeah, we're gettin' real close..."_

Right, that's everything changed so far! If there are any critiques, do let me know!

* * *

In the warm sun, two figures tread up the hill before them. No words are spoken between them, both absorbed in their thoughts. The first up the hill is the older of the two. A man in his early thirties. His brown hair ruffles in the wind, his chocolate brown eyes shining from the chill wind wetting them. He holds a machete loosely in his hands, blood sunken into the steel of the bladed instrument. And yet they had the gall to label it _stainless_ steel, back when they would have been sold. He shudders, zipping up his coat a little more. His companion steps up the hill next to him, catching her breath quickly. The young woman is no older than twenty. She chews her lip, her face obscured by her tattered blue and white cap pulled down over her golden eyes. In her right hand, she loosely holds a handgun. Her left hand is tucked in her jacket pocket, holding the last physical reminder of her guardian, Lee.

Clementine has always been desperate to return to Savannah. Ten years ago, she had left Lee in a jewellery store, too afraid to pull the trigger on him. Her friend, her second father, her guardian _._

" _You can leave me... It's okay." Lee shuts his eyes and whispers the last words._

" _You'll be just like them!" Clementine cries, gesturing to the shutter door._

 _"It's okay... It won't be me." Lee assures the little girl, a look of determination on his tired face as he opens his eyes._

And now, at nineteen years old, Clementine is returning to her guardian. To help her the only way she could now. She just wishes she could have been there sooner for him.

She looks across at her last remaining friend, who flashes her a warm smile. Luke.

After they'd escaped from Carver's compound together, they had learned to rely on each other. They found solace in each other, companionship in their grief – Clementine with Lee, Luke with his fallen comrades. At the young age of eleven, she had lost so many people she had cared about, and yet she had to keep marching. Luke, though older at twenty-six, had to watch as his group – the closest thing to family for him - was ripped apart merely two weeks after first escaping their cruel leader. A stark contrast to little Clementine in Savannah, where in the span of just one evening she found out she really had lost her parents, and then lost Lee.

Poor Lee.

Such a horrific way to die, cuffed to a radiator by his remaining hand, covered in blood. The bullet hole in his gut from the fight with the strange man who took Clementine away. His eyes yellowing, either from the blood loss from his clumsy amputation or if the walker's venom had spread too far. The way he had looked at Clementine as he died still haunts her dreams to this day.

" _No. Don't worry. All right... I'll miss you." Lee whispers, looking at her sadly._

 _"Me, too." Clementine whimpers, looking up at him._

Clementine often finds herself looking back on that hellish day, and wonders if she could have done something different to save Lee. Going with the man who insisted he had her parents was a given, and she curses her naivety with every passing day.

" _You have my mom and dad?" Clementine asks delightedly as she walks up to the strange man, smiling shyly. Her heart is pounding in excitement. The man smiles back, but rather than making her comfortable she feels a little unnerved by the sick grin that lines his visage._

 _"Yes, sweetie, but we have to go, now!" the man looks delighted, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. His grip is firm, and Clementine can't help but feel a little uneasy._

" _B – But what about Lee?" she asks, confused. "He's nice, maybe he can -"_

" _No no, we need to go, now." he murmurs, racing towards his car. The walkie talkie slips out of Clementine's grip and she looks over in surprise, before realising if the man is being nice she won't need it any more. She feels a gust of wind, and feels the top of her hair ruffle. Wait..._

" _Wait, my hat! My hat, it's in the garden!" she cries, tugging desperately against the man's hand, begging him to let her quickly go and get that treasured keepsake. "I need it!"_

 _"We'll get you a new one." he says hastily, looking around anxiously as he chivvies her towards the station wagon door. "Come on, move, quickly!" he whispers, bundling her into the back seat._

She opens her eyes. _God damnit._ If only she hadn't been so stupid. She hadn't meant for anyone to get hurt, she had just really wanted to see her parents again.

Unfortunately, that desire had lead to Ben getting put down by Kenny, and Lee being bitten and dying slowly in that miserable jewellery store. After meeting with Christa and Omid, she had believed Kenny had died too.

Good to know he hadn't. She had been delighted when they met again at that ski lodge, her eyes widening in shock as she realised who the loud man threatening her group was. But things hadn't been as idyllic as she had hoped when they got into an argument about what kind of person Lee was – Kenny had insisted firmly that Lee wasn't a good man, while Clementine had vehemently argued that Lee had done so much for Kenny's family and that Kenny was being, in her words, an "asshole". Kenny had apologised after that, but it hadn't changed how angry she was at him at the time. Lee was probably in agony back in Savannah, and Kenny had the nerve to call him a bad man.

She never understood why Kenny hated Lee. Lee was compassionate, and kind, and he always did what was best for other people. When they had first met, Lee and Kenny had got along well, and she can still vividly remember him standing up for Duck in the drug store, and how could she ever forget that horrible time on Hershel's farm, when Lee rescued Duck from the walkers on the tractor, his actions causing poor Shawn Greene to die a gruesome death at the hands of the walkers.

And yet, because Lee didn't kill Larry, Kenny had always been rude to him after the Saint Johns.

Clementine is jolted out of her reverie when that rotting stench hits the air around her. She groans in disgust and pinches her nose, looking to Luke. The man looks at the walkers, a grimace on his face.

"What do you think?" Clementine whispers, sizing up the group of walkers.

"We can't take 'em." Luke says softly, twisting his machete in his grip. His eyes flit between the nineteen year old Clementine and the group of twelve odd walkers."Stick to the treeline, Clem. Less chance of getting seen by the walkers. Now, if we _do_ get seen -"

"We won't. They won't see us" Clementine mutters "I'm sure of it... They're just like dumb animals." she cringes as she says it, her nose crinkling as the walkers limp closer.

"Dumb animals that can smell out the livin', yeah." Luke teases, grinning. Clementine chuckles at the wry observation he made, shaking her head as the two slink to one side, desperate to avoid fighting the living dead. Her chuckles die in her throat as that thrill of fear rears in the back of her mind.

They walk silently, their only company being their thoughts as they creep past the undead. The hellish groaning that accompanies them being their nightmarish soundtrack as they creep along. The ever present fear of joining their ranks steadies their feet, helping them hold their nerve.

That's the trick. Being calm in the face of adversity.

Sarah never learnt that lesson. Clementine can still hear her screams when she closes her eyes, recalling with perfect clarity the night when Sarah lost her life.

The screaming, the smell of rotting flesh and blood, the fear that was almost tangible in the air around them. She can practically taste the metal flavour of blood in her mouth, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach whenever she thinks of the poor girl.

" _Clementine! I can't – I can't breathe! I can't breathe!"_

 _"You have to be quiet, Sarah!" Clementine hisses to her._

Yet try though she might, Clementine had been incapable of calming Sarah, and she was forced to watch as her friend was ripped apart by walkers in the cold night.

" _Sarah! Please, look at me!" Clementine breathes. Sarah's breathing is loud and quick, coming out in short bursts of gasping breaths. Sarah looks at Clementine, tears in her eyes. "It's going to be okay, I promise." Clementine whispers desperately._

" _No it's not, my dad's dead and now -" Sarah's cut off by a walker getting too close. Sarah's scream pierces the night, and Clementine gasps as she swings her hatchet at it's skull._

Clementine missing her swing, and Sarah's panicking both resulted in Sarah's death. Whenever Clementine looks back on that night, she wonders if she couldn't have been more calm for Sarah's sake. Maybe keeping just a little calmer as they sneaked through the herd would have gotten everyone through. Were she even a little more in control, she might not have missed in that crucial moment. Maybe Sarah would be a companion in her travels.

Questions of _what if_ always circled in the young woman's brain. They were a constant in her life, now. Much like when the plague first started, she just assumed Lee would always be there. Or when poor baby A.J was born, she assumed that she would see him grow up.

Of course, that would never happen. That defenceless child never had a real chance, Clementine knew that. But, at the young age of eleven, Clementine hoped and hoped that the baby would make it, as a little brother figure for her.

But he hadn't. A lack of proper food and water had lead to his untimely death. The eleven year old Clementine had been a wreck after that, but Luke had been so much worse behind closed doors. In front of Clementine, he forced himself to be tough and to try and smile it off, but on the inside he was screaming. Whenever Clementine was asleep, Luke would sit up and think about the dead child, wallowing in self guilt. They both needed each other to pull themselves out of the dark pit they were in, and the bond they had only strengthened through their grieving.

" _Luke?" Clementine mumbles, touching Luke's shoulder. Luke looks over sadly, miserable._

" _Hey, Clem." he murmurs, sighing. He scratches the back of his neck. "Are you okay, kid?"_

 _"N – No." she whimpers, wringing her hands. Luke blinks. He's so used to seeing her act tough, it's unusual to see Clementine acting like a little girl. He can't help but feel out of his element._

" _What's wrong?" he asks gently, looking at her._

" _Little Alvie..." Clementine says miserably. "I miss him, Luke... He was like my little brother."_

" _Yeah, I miss him too." Luke says softly, pulling her into a hug. Clementine accepts, sniffling._

After that first conversation, the grieving got a little easier to manage, knowing they had each other. Clementine had watched the rest of the group fall apart during their escape, and Rebecca had only died a few weeks before Alvin Junior had died. Clementine and Luke were all that was left.

Whenever she thought of the group from the cabin and the small group from the ski lodge, her heart hurt. She missed them all, even if she didn't know them all too long, they were like a family. The way they had all died so quickly, back-to-back, still horrifies her whenever she thinks about it. Clementine had cried hardest when Kenny had died, her oldest friend made during the apocalypse.

" _You're questioning my methods?" Carver asks slowly, eyebrows raised. "How would you have disciplined her? She was a mouthy brat, and now she's fallen into line." he sneers._

" _Fuck you, she's just a little girl!" Kenny roars, shaking with rage, amazed at what Carver had just said. He steps forward, his hands curled into fists. He glowers at the tyrant, livid._

" _No, she's a survivor." Carver snaps. "And she needed to learn a little respect!"_

" _You son of a bitch." Kenny says softly, glowering at him. Carver stops pacing. The words hang in the air, and Kenny glowers at Carver. Carver's face twists into a horrid, horrid leer._

" _What did you just say to me?" he asks in a low voice, advancing on Kenny._

" _I called you a son of a bitch!" Kenny bellows, pointing at him furiously._

" _Hmph... Well, you have balls, Kenneth." he says slowly. "But I don't want you to have balls. I want you to have some God damn respect!" Carver spits. "Now... I think another course of discipline is in order. Teach you all a fuckin' lesson." his calm voice is a stark contrast to his face, which is alive with fury. His eyes burn with an unholy rage. Carver strides forward as he says it, and he cracks Kenny across the face with a hard right hook. Kenny crashes to the floor loudly, and Clementine screams in horror as her friend collapses. She makes to go and help him, lunging forward. She gasps as the wind is temporarily knocked out of her by Luke tugging her back._

" _KENNY! KENNY, NO!" Luke grabs her and pulls her back desperately. She writhes in his grip, kicking and pushing as she trys to fight her way free. "I can't lose him as well!" she shrieks, but the farm boy clings on. The eleven year old wails and screams at the top of her lungs, begging Carver to let Kenny live. Her cries were falling upon deaf ears, however, and the man did not relent._

But there was nothing they could do, even if Luke had wanted to risk his life for the old ex-fisherman. So the young girl had to watch as the old man was beaten into the floor by Carver, right in front of her. After Kenny had died, the group lost the will to fight. Not only had Kenny been killed, but also their spirit. His body had been left out in the parking lot as a reminder of the punishment for disobedience. Every morning after Kenny died, the group fell into line and did as asked. They went about their tasks, the fight sapped from them. Though they wanted more than ever to escape from the dictatorship ran by the dangerous William Carver, they were distraught. Broken in like dogs to their cruel master. It wasn't until Clementine told Luke quietly and miserably of the Saint John's trapping her and her old group in the meat locker that the fight returned to the twenty-six year old man, and they started to plot their escape. Slowly but surely, the group started to formulate a plan, desperate to be free from the maniac who had killed two of their group members in cold blood. All of the group but Sarah had helped plan out the escape. Clementine still remembers fondly how she helped Sarah.

" _Hey, Sarah." Clementine says quietly, sitting cross legged next to Sarah. "Are – Are you okay?"_

" _No." Sarah mumbles. There's a short pause. "I was thinking about Kenny."_

 _"Oh." Clementine looks down. "Yeah. I –" she pauses, and clears her throat. "How are you?"_

" _He didn't deserve that, Clem." Sarah squeaks. Clementine nods, sniffling. "It was so scary..."_

" _It was..." Clementine whispers, sniffling. "It really sucks. I miss him lots, Sarah … He was a good guy. He really didn't deserve that." Clementine looks at Sarah, the silence deafening. She pauses, tilting her head as she thinks of what to say. "Sarah?" she grabs the fifteen year old girl's attention. The girl doesn't look over, thinking of Kenny's death over and over and over._

 _"Uh-huh?" Sarah hums sadly. A smile works it's way onto Clementine's face._

" _Can I ask my best friend something?" Clementine asks meekly, already knowing the answer._

Those simple words pulled Sarah out of her state. She had looked truly happy that Clementine would ask that of her, no doubt because of their rocky start.

" _I don't want to say we're friends and then have to do something not friendly." Clementine whispers, pleading with her eyes that this Sarah girl would just drop it and get her the peroxide._

" _Please?" Sarah begs. Clementine sighs slowly, irritated. Her arm is bleeding. She really doesn't have time for this. She shuts her eyes, trying to think with a clear head._

" _Okay, fine." Clementine whispers hurriedly. "Friends." she smiles falsely._

" _Pinky promise?" Sarah asks innocently. Clem sighs angrily, her patience diminishing even more._

" _Sure, whatever, yeah." she says, forcing a smile again and interlocking pinkie fingers with Sarah._

Clementine always wishes she could go back to that day when her and Sarah first met, so she could be nicer and maybe have gotten to know her a little better. As it stands, Clementine barely knew anything about Sarah when she died, except for her favourite book, "The Guurgles".

Regrets like these are a constant for the young woman. Though she tries to hold no regrets, it's impossible to go through life without regretting anything nowadays. Having to make tough calls, deciding the fate of other survivors in the heat of a moment. And it's especially difficult to not regret what happened to Lee. The man who had given his life for her, even though – in her mind – she gave nothing back.

But then, Clementine thought that about most people she's encountered.

Pete was a good friend to Clementine, for the little amount of time they knew each other. The man had helped save her life after she had been bitten by the dog, Sam, and believed her whole-heartedly when she told him it wasn't a walker bite. He was the only one she trusted in the cabin group out of all of them, even though she really wanted to trust Luke – he had seemed nice, if a little rude.

" _Don't look at me like that! I'm not the one bit!" Luke snaps, glowering at Clementine.  
_

 _"But it was a dog!" Clementine insists. "Why won't you believe me?!"_

" _Because I haven't seen a dog in – fuck, I don't even KNOW how long!" Luke yells impatiently._

" _I'll take you to it! I swear, it's a dog bite!" Clementine begs, desperate. Luke sighs and looks at Pete, who is frowning in deep thought, listening intently to the child's cries. There's a long, long pause._

 _"Clementine?" Pete asks slowly, his eyes narrow.  
_

 _"Yes?" she sounds nervous, her face lined with worry.  
_

 _"You tellin' the truth?" the eleven year old looks hurt that he'd ask that. "You look me in the eyes, when you answer me."_

 _"Yes." Clementine looks as confident as she can as her arm sears, making eye contact with the man. Pete deliberates for a few moments, before letting his face break into a smile._

" _Hmm... Well, all right Clementine. That's good enough for me." Pete says, holding out his hand. Clementine takes it gratefully, and he helps her up._

" _You've got to be kidding me!" Luke sounds incredulous, throwing his hands up in the air. "What else was she going to say?"_

 _"Luke, you need to -" the oldest of the three speaks up as Clementine hugs herself, but Luke cuts him off._

 _"Look, I want to believe the kid, really I do! But there's no way in hell that -"_

" _I'm not gonna let a little girl die in the woods, if we have a doctor with us who can make a call. We can let him take a look at her." Pete states, firm in his belief._

But it seemed he was cursed for being fond of her, because not even a full day later Pete was bitten by a walker while he, Nick and Clementine were out on a fishing trip. The whole thing was doomed from the get-go, for when they got to the river, the bank had bodies all over it. Each body had been shot in the head. Clementine had been more than afraid when she saw the bodies, and judging from Nick's face he felt similarly. Pete hadn't broken stride though, looking on at the bodies with a face resembling pity.

" _Poor bastards... Jesus." Pete murmurs, crouching down and inspecting one of the corpses._

" _Who do you think did this?" Clementine asks in a soft voice, fearful of drawing walkers._

" _Hmm, hard to say." Pete replies, uncertain. "But whoever it was, they were organised."  
_

 _"C'mon, uncle Pete. You're Carver, what do you do about random survivors who put up a fight?" Nick asks sarcastically, gesturing to the corpse nearest him with his rifle._

" _Who's Carver?" Clementine asks, looking up._

Clementine learned soon enough who Carver was, and she really wishes she hadn't. The man had come to the cabin later that day, and had tried to convince Clementine that the cabin group were bad people – murderers, in fact. Looking back on it, Clementine considers it ironic that _he_ was telling her that the cabin group were murderers, considering what he ended up doing to Kenny and Alvin.

That's not to say she agreed with what happened to Carver. Far from it. As far as she was concerned, Luke and Rebecca crossed the line in terms of how they "punished" him. Every time Clementine looks at thinks back to that cold night, she finds herself flinching a little as she remembers the gut-wrenching screams of the middle aged man, howling in pain as the walkers were sicked on him, the disgusting wet chewing noises as they tore into him, literally ripping him apart limb from limb. While she hadn't watched, she had been forced to listen, too afraid to go out and brave facing the herd of walkers with just Carlos and Sarah for company. Carlos had been disgusted by the idea of what Rebecca proposed as a punishment, a way of avenging her lost husband. Luke had tried to talk her down, but the fire in the grieving widow's eyes intimidated the foreign doctor, who had retreated outside with Sarah in tow. The farm boy had sighed and let off a shot from his gun, luring the walkers to the heavily bleeding man, who had been howling in pain into the dark night.

" _Fuck you Bill! This is what you get!" the woman screams, as a walker tears his throat open._

Clementine looks over at Luke, who is twisting the machete in his grip as they continue to walk. Sometimes she wonders whether it scarred him as much as it did her, seeing as he was the one who had helped enacted the action he looked back on with such disgust and horror. But then, she was a lot younger than him at the time, and it's a reasonable thing to suppose that a young girl would be more traumatised by a brutal murder than a twenty-six year old man.

The woman's throat burns, and she takes a sip of her lukewarm water. She looks over at Luke, and raises the bottle to him, a gesture of care.

"D'you want some? I know your bottle ran out earlier." Clementine breaks the silence.

"N'aw, I'm good." Luke says softly, smiling slightly at the woman. "You hold onto it, Clem."

"Will do." she replies drily, placing the bottle back in her pack as they walk. There's a brief pause.

"How far are we from Savannah, Luke?" she asks, squinting towards the skyline.

"I dunno." the farm boy shrugs, smiling. "Gettin' closer, I s'pose." Clementine rolls her eyes at that.

"No shit." she grumbles to herself, fiddling with the picture of Lee. Luke laughs.

"Polite as ever, you are." he chuckles. "Want to chat?" he looks at her. Clementine shakes her head.

"No, I just..." she rubs her forehead. "I just want to think about stuff, if that's okay." she says quietly, her golden eyes looking into his brown ones. She returns his smile.

"Yeah, 'course. Give me a shout if you need anything." he tells her. She nods slowly, looking back at her trainers. The two lapse back into silence.

If someone had told her ten years ago that a goofy farm boy like Luke would be her only friend, she would tell them to get stuffed – albeit in a more polite, meek-mannered way. She would have assumed it would've been Alfred from first grade, or maybe Lee, her guardian and protector, but most importantly her friend. Or maybe even Duck, Kenny's son. But not Luke, no way.

It's not that she hated Luke when she first met him – far from it, Luke was nothing if not nice.

" _You okay?" Luke asks gently, shifting her in his arms. Clementine chews her lip, before wincing._

" _Not really, my … I think I'll live." she swallows, looking up at the man. He smiles down at her._

" _Well that's good, can't have a tough cookie like you bitin' the dust, can we?" Luke smiles. She looks back at her arm for a moment, a whimper escaping her lips as the wound sears._

" _I guess not." she shrugs, putting on a brave face as she looks back at the kind stranger. One word crosses her mind as she observes his smile, and she hopes she's not sized him up wrong. She repeats the word to herself in her head. Friend. And she finds herself smiling for the first time in weeks._

After Clem had sewn her arm up, Luke had always had Clementine's well being in mind, refusing any and all food rations until Clementine had been fed. And, even after he and Clem were the only two left, he slapped on a brave face and helped her out of the dark place she had gone to after the baby Alvin Junior had died. And even before then, when he was worried for his groups lives at the ski lodge, Luke went above and beyond to make Clementine feel safe, staying up with her at night to set her mind at ease about Carver shadowing them.

" _You're sure they're not following us, right?" Clementine asks softly, biting her lip. Luke smiles._

" _Pretty sure." he lies, looking over at the clock from his position in the room. His shoulders sag at the late time, and he turns to look at his small friend again. "Listen, I'm sure we're safe up here, so don't worry about it, okay?" he crosses two of his fingers behind his back._

 _"You're not lying, right?" she mumbles, watching her older friend with a careful eye.  
_

 _"No, 'course not." Luke bluffs, pulling his best poker face. The young girl scrutinises him for a few seconds, frowning ever so slightly._

 _"Promise?" she searches his eyes for deceit, and the farm boy can't help but feel sorry for the little girl. Having to figure out if her friend is lying to her about something so serious.  
_

 _"Promise." he assures her gently, hoping that the little girl will give him the benefit of the doubt._

" _Okay, Luke." she says quietly, nuzzling into her pillow. Luke breathes out relievedly._

" _Go to sleep, okay, kid?" he asks of her softly. She nods, smiling._

" _Night, Luke." she whispers in the dark. Luke looks up at her._

" _Night, Clem." he replies, smiling as he walks to bed._

Clementine smiles at the memory, and follows after Luke as they make their way back south.

* * *

The sun hangs low as the two travellers size up the situation before them. They crouch low, hiding in the treeline. The living dead have found the two, and by hiding they've hardly bought themselves a few seconds. The young woman looks to her older companion, chewing her lip.

"Walkers." Clementine whispers, looking to Luke. He nods slowly, consumed in thought. The walkers limp ever closer, moaning hungrily. "There's only four of them." she continues.

"Yeah." he agrees, looking over at Clementine. "You take the left hand two." he points at them with his machete. "I got the bigger two, okay?" he looks at her. Clementine nods.

"Sure, I'll take them." she says softly in agreement.

"I mean it this time." he says, his eyes twinkling. "Not like at the bridge when you were little. Do as you're told." he grins from ear to ear, looking at her fondly. Clementine knows what he's referring to – when she disobeyed him back on the bridge before the ski lodge, when she had taken down the walker Luke had called as "his" kill. Luke had looked amazed at her bravery, before showing her how to receive a low five. Clementine vividly remembers the confusion she had felt when he gestured for her to hold out her palm, and then the giggle that had left her mouth as he playfully slapped her hand.

"Sure, whatever." she replies, smiling, holding out her hand. "For old time's sake?" she smiles. Luke slaps it, chuckling. They lapse into silence, the pair striding towards the walkers, which groan as fresh meat approaches. Clementine eyes up the two she's meant to kill.

The first is a woman. Long straggly hair, her jaw hanging loose, with freakishly long and sharp nails. Judging by her clothes, she used to be a waitress of some sorts. The clothes are discoloured with the tar-like colouring of old blood, whether the walkers own from struggles against other survivors or from the sloppy way walkers feed.

The second is an overweight man. A stark contrast to the ex-waiter, the man is dressed in grubby coveralls, evidently a mechanic. He has short hair, and crooked teeth. His jaw snaps continuously as he makes his way towards his prey. His soulless eyes roll around in his head, and one side of his forehead has an open wound, an evident sign of him being in a fight recently. Bullet holes line his chest, a clear indication of a survivor who had panicked in that precious do-or-die moment which, if you're not in control of the situation, means the difference between life and death.

Clementine shoves her pistol into the back of her jeans and pulls out her survival knife, a look of raw concentration on her face. The woman lunges closer, and Clementine steps up to her, swinging the knife in an uppercut. The walkers jaw hangs loose, cut on one side so that it can't bite any more. Clementine sucks in her breath and slams the blade into the walkers forehead. The fight leaves it immediately as it's brain is damaged sufficiently. Clementine gasps as the second walker staggers closer, and she hurriedly yanks her knife's blade out. _Calm down._ She thinks to herself, breathing slowly as she kicks the female walker off of her blade. The fat male walker groans as he pushes himself on the young woman, who squeaks in fear. She pushes desperately, gasping as her knife clatters to the floor. _No... No no no!_ She knees the walker in the groin, and pushes with her hands. As the walker is pushed off her, she lunges for the knife on the floor. She lands on the floor hard and snatches up her weapon hurriedly. She twirls the knife neatly, calming herself down as she gathers her breath, pushing herself to her feet.

"You're fine, you're fine." she whispers to herself. The walker flings itself at her, and she plunges the knife into it's right temple. It slumps suddenly, and the sudden dead weight makes her crack down. She groans, annoyed, and pushes the dead walker off her. She prises the knife out, and crawls backwards, away from the fresh corpse of the walker. Clementine pushes herself up, shaking her head to clear it after her sudden tumble from the fight with the walker. She looks over, watching Luke slam his machete into the skull of his second walker. It collapses, and Luke yanks it out of the walker's forehead. He cringes, drying his hands of blood on his already disgusting looking jeans. She looks at the walker he'd killed, it's severed arm bringing her back to that hellish night.

Having to listen as Carver's right arm was ripped from it's socket by a ravenous walker.

Whenever Clementine thinks of Carver's fate, she can't help but remember the terror she felt the night Lee died. But rather than remembering his last moments, whenever she thinks of Carver she instead remembers when Lee killed the man who took her away. The man who had lied, and had caused so much pain for the little girl. The man who had doomed Lee to be bitten.

" _She wouldn't hurt a fly." the man looks up at Lee, who's eyes widen as Clementine slams the bottle against the man's head. He shouts out in pain, and Lee leaps to his feet, swinging his cleaver at the man. The man panics and kicks Lee in the wrist, then kicks him in the stomach. Lee gasps and collapses, and the stranger tries to jam the gun in Lee's face. Lee gasps and pushes back desperately, grabbing at the man's gun. Lee pulls the slide back on the man's gun, grunting in concentration. The man pants in his exertion, trying to get his gun aimed at Lee, seemingly ignorant about his gun being unable to cycle a new round. Lee grunts and kicks the man, who flies backwards. The gun lands on the other side of the room. Clementine squeaks in fear, jumping backwards as the man races towards the gun, with Lee in hot pursuit. As Lee towers over the man, the man twists on the spot and shoots Lee in the gut._

" _Lee!" Clementine shrieks in horror, watching as Lee crashes into the chest of drawers._

" _Argh!" he cries out in pain as a flurry of crashes fill the room, with the items on top of the chest of drawers smashing on the floor. The man advances on Lee, looking guilty._

" _I'm sorry." he says slowly. Lee roars in determination and uppercuts him with his remaining arm. The stranger cries out and crashes into the closet, and that's when Lee grabs him by the throat._

Clementine shudders as she remembers the stranger's look of horror as Lee choked him to death, snarling and growling as he throttled the life out of him. And how could she forget when Lee scooped up the man's pistol and, with a look of misery and guilt on his face, swung it up and shot him clean through the skull, sighing as the gun's deafening bang filled the room.

Clementine had never told Luke about what happened inside the Marsh House, only what happened after she had got Lee into the jewellery store. And even then, she had been patchy about what actually happened, glossing over parts. This wasn't out of a lack of trust for Luke, but more a fear of re-opening the wound which has never fully healed. And as far as Clementine is concerned, that wound will never heal until Lee has been laid to rest, fully.

She resents herself for her brief moment of – in her words - cowardice. Whenever she remembers Lee's last moments, she feels sadness – which is to be expected – but also anger at her younger self. _I should have pulled the trigger._ The thought enters her head every day, every time she thinks about Lee. Every time a modicum of thought concerning Lee enters her head, she berates herself for not granting him the mercy he had given to others.

The one time she had confessed to anyone how she had felt, it had been to Kenny, back at the ski lodge. He had looked at her with an expression mixed between pity and confusion as she explained how angry she was at herself for not killing Lee. And when she let him hold her close, she listened to him talk, and the man's words have stuck in her brain ever since, not leaving her alone.

" _I know how you feel, Clementine." the older man mutters. "It was the same with my boy... Lee... He took care of him for me. I'll never forget that. I wish I coulda been there for him though, Clementine." the man's voice cracks. "I should have been there for my little boy."_

He cried for a while after that, and the then eleven year old had stood there awkwardly as the man clutched her close, crying into her shoulder as she loosely patted the back of his head, feeling guilty for making him think about his lost family.

She had always liked Kenny's family – Katjaa had always been nice and Duck always friendly, if a little weird. She had never been into comics as a little girl, much preferring sitting in her tree house reading books about animals. Well, she would _tell_ her parents that she was reading them, but really she would just look at the pictures of the different animals and stare in amazement at them all, her mind boggled by the sheer amount and variety of animals that lived in the world. Despite the fact that Duck and Clementine shared little-to-no interests, however, she still considered him a friend. And Katjaa had always taken an interest in what Clementine had to say, even though looking back on it a lot of it was meaningless. Clementine frowns as she thinks about Kenny's family, upset that she can't recall what they look like perfectly. When she conjures them up in her minds eye, they're foggy, as if they're nothing more than silhouettes. She can't remember them vividly any more, only bits and pieces.

It's never like that with Lee, but she supposes that's to do with the fact she kept the picture of him with her at all times, and ever since he died it had become something of a nightly ritual to look at it and sometimes pretend to talk to him about the day. She hasn't done that in a while, however. Though she treasures her hat and the picture of Lee equally, she just hasn't found the energy to talk to an inanimate object and pretend it's her second father. Though she likes to humour the idea that Lee was in heaven with her parents, watching down on her. She didn't know what heaven even _was_ until Kenny explained it to her, along with what Christianity meant, back at the ski lodge, a few days before Carver attacked. Him and Walter had sat her down and tried their best to teach it to her, but it didn't make sense to her at the time, unable to wrap her head around the idea that there was something after one dies.

She shakes her head again, clearing her thoughts. Luke is looking down at the walker, a look of pity on his features. He stands over it for a few moments, his brow furrowed as he takes in the mottled form of the walker. He jumps when he hears Clementine talk.

"We should really keep moving, Luke, it's not safe at night." she says quietly, looking at him. He sighs deeply, rubbing his face and looking out towards the horizon.

"Yeah... Yeah, we should get out of here." he says, sliding his machete into the sheathe on his back. He turns, walking away from the dead walkers. Clementine spares Luke's kills a half glance, her stomach flipping at the way they looked in death. Though she hardly treats them like friends, she never allows herself to get carried away when it comes to killing walkers. Put them down, keep moving, don't dwell on who they were.

Luke clearly thinks similarly. She can sometimes hear him reminding himself that the walkers used to be humans too, and so they shouldn't allow themselves to get swept up in the moment. Clementine thinks that the reason he thinks walkers are the same as people is because of the fate of his friend Alvin, back at Carver's compound.

The poor man had been shot in the throat by Carver, where he had bled to death. Once he had died, he had returned as a walker and came after the group. Rebecca had stared in horror before breaking down into hysterics as his walker self lumbered towards them. Carver had looked delighted as the walker version of Alvin had staggered into view and bitten Nick on the neck. Nick's horrified screams had been silenced by the walker finishing him off, and the walkers hungry groans had been cut off by Luke shooting it in the head, his breathing ragged and tears in her eyes.

The two tread further through the wilderness, walking in near silence. Clementine looks to Luke and opens her mouth to talk. She pauses, then closes her mouth. _No sense talking for no reason._ She sighs and looks at the floor, before slowly withdrawing the picture of Lee. She smiles down at it, glad that her younger self had had the idea to quickly snatch it up while Lee wasn't looking back in the office of his parent's drug store. The smile fades as she remembers the office of the drug store. How miserable Lee had looked as he first looked inside.

" _I can't... I can't imagine them like this." he whispers to himself. Clementine frowns in confusion, before putting two and two together – Lee must have known someone here. Maybe his friend?_

She closes her eyes as she walks next to her older companion, Luke, deep in remembrance of Lee. She remembers when they were in the back office of the drug store, back when she didn't know that Lee's family owned the store. That was, until he admitted it to her, getting down on one knee in front of her in front of the desk they were shifting and talking quietly to her.

" _I ki... I …" he swallows, thinking. "I got into a fight with someone once." Lee admits guiltily._

" _What happened?" Clementine asks quietly, looking up at her new friend. Lee sighs gently._

" _It ended really badly, and I got into a lot of trouble. After that, I wasn't allowed to talk to my mom and dad any more." Lee looks around the room as he says that, looking a little forlorn._

 _"That's so sad." Clementine whispers sadly, shuffling her feet. Lee smiles weakly._

" _This was my parent's store, but let's keep that between you and me, okay?" Lee raises his eyebrow playfully as he asks that, smiling knowingly at her. She nods, before bowing her head._

 _"Okay. Because of the trouble?" Clementine looks up at Lee, her head bowed under her cap._

" _Because of the trouble, right." he smiles warmly at her, nodding slowly._

She smiles as she opens her eyes, skirting around a tree and treading a little closer to Luke, who peers back at her. He smiles knowingly, having a vague idea of what she's thinking of.

"Try and keep up, Clem." he murmurs, smiling at Clementine. She smiles back.

"Sorry, Luke." the nineteen year old says softly as she walks next to him.

"You don't need to be sorry, just looking out for ya is all." he says warmly, looking back out on the trail. Clementine takes a sip of water, offering the bottle to him again. He shakes his head, and Clementine sighs. She places the bottle back in her pack, not wanting to pursue his consistent refusal of water. She puts the picture of Lee carefully back into her pocket, mindful not to fold it.

"We need to set up camp, soon." Luke tells her quietly. Clementine sighs miserably. She really wants to make serious ground on Savannah. "We can't walk in the dark, Clem."

"Yeah, I know." Clementine mutters, accepting that they need to sleep. "Walkers are more active at night, and we can't see shit when it gets late."

"Exactly." Luke affirms, nodding before going back to silence. Clementine returns to her thoughts, trudging silently in Luke's wake. She pulls her jacket closer around her, shuddering as a chill wind murmurs through the trees, setting her hairs on end and making her suck her breath in. Though it's getting much warmer as the summer months arrive, there are moments of brief chill which take those who feel it by surprise. That said, anything is an improvement over the North Carolina winters they suffered as A.J slowly starved. Clementine recalls drily how she used to _love_ snow as a little girl. She would squeal with delight whenever it snowed, and beg her parents to build a snowman with her in their driveway. Now the thought of snow makes her lips turn to a scowl, and then they tug downwards as she remembers little Alvin, who had been ecstatic when snow fell.

Clementine thinks she hears movements in the trees next to her, and instantly she's on high alert. She draws her handgun and points it at the suspected source of the noise. Luke looks at her.

"You okay, Clem?" he asks, his voice soft yet urgent. Clementine swallows, aiming at the trees.

"I thought I heard a noise." she says quietly, chewing her lip. They stand still for a full minute, waiting to see if the noise occurs again. When nothing happens, Clementine pushes her pistol into the back of her jeans again. She frowns, confused.

"It was probably just some animal, they'd be beddin' down right now anyway." Luke reassures her. He smiles. "Heh, this reminds me of how jumpy Nick was when we first moved out, back in nineteen -"

"Luke, I'm concentrating." Clementine cuts him off, aiming her pistol at where she thinks the noise came from. Luke chuckles at her retort.

"Fair enough." he laughs softly. "I doubt it's anything serious. It's been quiet last couple a' days besides the walkers from earlier, so don't worry."

"I guess." she shrugs, reluctant to move on. She tilts her head to one side and kicks at a group of leaves, trying to place what the noise was. She shrugs, content that it wasn't anything amiss. "We should move." she says finally. "If it was a noise, walkers might be drawn to it." The two tread on, walking slowly. Their feet ache from the constant movement and their too tight shoes clutching to their feet.

Clementine has always hated walking. When she was a little kid, she always hated the school trips where they had to walk around all day, much preferring times like the trip to the zoo where there was a tram-like vehicle which toured the exhibits. Walking just made her feet hurt and tired her out. And the last thing she wanted to be was tired when there were tasty chocolate cakes at the cafe or back home to be enjoyed.

Now, though, a peaceful walk is something Clementine treasures above most other things. Something about feeling the fresh air fill her lungs, her heart beating calmly in her chest and being able to take in the quiet surroundings... Bliss. It's only when something shatters the illusion of tranquillity that Clementine really hates walking, whether it the living or the dead. Or when she's surrounded by the clotting, rotten smell of the undead as she sneaks through a herd, her clothes drenched in their guts and blood so that they can't distinguish her from another one of their satanic brethren.

The first time she walked among the dead is a time she'll never forget. The sound of thunder in the distance, the moans and groans as the walkers staggered through the blood drenched street, the feel of Lee's hand on her back ushering her along. The terror nestled in the pit of her stomach, convinced that they were going to get spotted at any moment.

And then seeing her parents among them. Feeling her heart in her mouth as she recognised the two people she had loved more than anything else in the world, their faces rotten and torn. Her father with his guts hanging out, blood around his lips as he leered at her and Lee. And then her mother, tall even in death, with a slash mark in her stomach and the telltale red marks of a bite along her throat. Clementine's eyes were wide as she drank in their appearance, tears running down her cheeks as her parents moaned hungrily at her, nothing left of their old selves save for their appearance.

And she can still remember Lee's words before he collapsed, his voice hoarse yet soft.

" _Clem... Don't..." he whispers, sounding short of breath._

Yet she couldn't tear her eyes away, not until she heard her friend collapse, a soft _thump_ meeting her ears as Lee landed heavily on the hard concrete floor. She had been so scared when she heard that noise, and when she twisted to see what it was, her jaw hit the floor at the sight of Lee unconscious. The whole time she dragged him to the jewellery store, she begged to his lifeless form that he was alive, or okay, or that he would just help her somehow.

" _Lee, please be okay! Please, I can't do this without you! Please please please Lee!"_

She swallows, reluctant to remind herself of Lee's death. _Don't dwell on it._ She breathes in deeply, focussing on walking again. The temperature is steadily dropping as the night starts to settle in. So Clementine zips up her battered leather jacket, desperate to keep herself warm. The last thing she needs is a cold when she's trying to help Lee. Getting a cold would just slow her down, or make her more susceptible to other illnesses. And that would really bite, getting something that's more dangerous than inconvenient. She couldn't _name_ any, as it were, but she remembered how Lee and Katjaa both insisted people had to be in tip-top condition whenever possible, owing to the ramifications were someone to get a serious illness – for example, when Clementine cut her finger and Lee had fixed it so as to prevent anything getting in it. She'd been extra careful not to get hurt since then, and the last time she had received a lasting physical injury was all the way back in Carver's camp, as a punishment for disobedience.

Clementine had had the job of helping load one of the many delivery trucks for what Carver called a "scouting run", which as far as Clementine had gathered was similar to what got her in the camp. So, when Bonnie had asked her politely if she could put some guns in the back, Clementine had put her foot down and refused to co-operate. Bonnie had tried to be patient, and warned her there would be serious repercussions if she failed to complete her assignment. However, little Clementine had refused over and over, stating angrily that she didn't want to help a murderer do their job.

That little jab had been the straw that broke the camel's back, and Bonnie radioed for Carver to come down. When he was brought down, Bonnie had explained that Clementine had refused to work with her to get the truck loaded. Carver had asked Clementine if this were true, and she had picked that moment, rather unfortunately, to swear at him in an attempt to seem fearless.

" _Is this true, little missy?" Carver drawls, looking down at her with a sickening smile._

" _Go fuck yourself." Clementine replies boldly, glowering up at him, fury in her golden eyes._

Carver hadn't taken that well, and had literally dragged her to his office by the back of her neck. She had kicked and spat and punched him the whole way there, but he had too tight a grip for the eleven year old to break. Her heart had been pounding, fit to burst out of her chest from the adrenaline as she was thrown into the dark room with Carver right behind her.

" _Get the fuck in there!" the middle aged man snaps, shoving her into the dingy office._

" _Leave me alone!" Clementine screams back, furious. The man towers over her, holding something behind his back. The bare anger in his eyes bore into Clementine, and if looks could kill she would have become a walker in that office._

" _You're gonna learn to keep your fuckin' mouth shut." Carver says with a voice full of malice. Clementine blanches, finally realising the mistake she had made by disrespecting him earlier._

" _I'm sorr-" she starts, raising her hands feebly in a futile form of self defence._

The burning feeling from the knife cutting her cheek still stings every now and then. She was sure her howl of pain had resonated throughout the store and into the parking lot outside. It was the wail of a banshee, as her mother would have said. As soon as the steel left her face, she collapsed to the floor, sobbing and screaming in agony. Carver had stood over her, a look of contempt on his tired face. Clementine had been cradling her sliced open cheek when she heard his growling voice.

" _You learnt your lesson, Clementine?" he asks innocently, grinning wickedly down at her._

" _Y – Yeah." she sniffs, crying. She kicks away from Carver as he steps closer to her._

" _You gonna do as you're asked, when you're asked?" he growls at her. She nods rapidly._

" _Yeah, I will, I will!" she gasps, terrified. The man nods, satisfied she had been broken._

" _Good. Now get out." he gestures to the door. "It'll be supper time in the pen soon." Clementine pays him next to no mind, however, still cradling her cheek as she races out the office door._

The wound had healed over eventually, with a little medical help from Carlos and a lot of time. Yet, despite the physical wound being healed over, the sickening fear incited from the attack has never left, and she has been careful ever since to obey what people tell her to do, lest she get hurt again.

It was actually that incident with the knife that had lead to Kenny mouthing Carver off during the morning call to work which, in turn, had lead to his brutal death. Clementine wishes she had kept her mouth shut about it, but at the time she had needed to tell _someone._ It was just unfortunate she had picked the man who was most pissed off with Carver to begin with.

" _Whoa whoa whoa, hold on, that piece a' shit did WHAT?!" Kenny bellows, disgusted. Clementine steps backwards, her hand over her cheek. The older man crouches in front of her. "Lemme see." he says urgently. Clementine whips her head from side to side, crying silently. Kenny sighs impatiently, looking up at her. "C'mon, it's okay." he attempts to smile, but he's so angry he can't muster the willpower to. He makes to grab her wrist, to tug it away from her cheek._

" _No, you'll get angry!" the little girl squeaks, horrified, backing up._

" _Clem, I won't get angry..."_

Liar, liar.

Kenny hadn't been able to resist shouting at Carver about it three mornings later, during one of his weekly "speeches" to the pen group. Carver had seemed supremely unimpressed, and he locked eyes with Clementine for a few moments. Clementine, intimidated, had hidden behind Luke's legs, the way she used to hide behind Lee's when she encountered strangers or met new friends. Luke had been surprised by the act of fear from the eleven year old, so used to seeing her act like an adult all the time. He'd allowed it, however, eager to not scare the little girl any more than she had already appeared to be. When Kenny had stepped forwards, Clementine had made to grab him, to pull him back, but another glower from Carver had her recoil backwards, scared to get hurt.

Yet that fear vanished when Carver started beating Kenny into the floor, first with his fists and then with his heavy feet. She had leaped to his rescue, having the wind knocked out of her when Luke wrapped his arms around her stomach suddenly, keeping her out of the way from the wrath of Carver. Her screams came to a stop when the beating concluded, and she watched in silence as the last living link to Lee was dragged away to God knows where. She croaked out a goodbye to the man, tears racing down her cheeks. She had curled up into Luke's arms and sobbed into his jumper, wailing about how it was all her fault. The scratchy material of Luke's sweater seared against the little girl's cut, serving as a reminder of what caused her oldest friend to die.

Clementine traces a line on her right cheek, the same line were there used to be a jagged cut. She smiles bitterly, relieved it's fully healed over. The only physical scar she has is on her left forearm, from the time she had inadvertently incited the anger of a pissed off, starving and dangerous dog. The smile fades as she remembers what happened to that dog, Sam. It's whines dying in it's throat as she slipped the knife into it's throat and dragged to one side, blood spurting out and splattering her young face.

" _I'm sorry, Sam." Clementine whispers to him, easing the pocket knife into the whining dog's throat. She suppresses a sob as the dog dies. She has never felt so alone._

She sighs, looking upwards to the sky. Clouds are gathering in the distance, and she scowls.

"Wonderful. Rain." she says to herself, sarcastic. Luke laughs at the young woman's dry tone of voice, and Clementine finds herself smiling at the fact she made her best and only friend laugh.

After all, what are friends for?

* * *

The moon is up as Luke and Clementine set up camp. Clementine strikes the flint on her lighter for a third time, and she lets out a sigh of relief as the flame sputters to life. She holds the torn up piece of newspaper to the lighter, and smiles as warmth blossoms into her frozen fingers. She drops the newspaper on top of the assorted sticks and logs they'd piled up, and the pile goes up in flames with a soft _whoosh._ Luke looks over at the nineteen year old as she holds her hands out over the roaring camp fire, her face illuminated eerily in the fading light.

"Nice work, Clem." he says, his voice barely heard over the crackling of the flames. The young woman nods before looking back at the flames, smiling at the soothing sounds of the flames burning in the night. She settles down, crossing her legs. The ground is dry from a lack of rain in recent days, and Clementine is grateful for that. Getting damp jeans is never an enjoyable experience, especially nowadays. No spare pair of jeans to turn to if her current pair gets damp. The woman sighs, rubbing her face as a wave of tiredness crashes over her.

This journey of theirs has been their only task for the last two years. And at last, finally, they were getting closer. From West Virginia, they had trekked to the East Coast, and were now following the coast southwards. The rationale behind this was that Savannah was a coastal city, and so by following said coast they would be able to find Savannah a little quicker.

However, this plan had resulted in a lot of cross country hiking, so they had opted to head further inland. According to Luke, they were near a city called "Jacksonville". They had travelled far after escaping Carver's compound, which was further west back in Tennessee. Before Clementine had come up with the plan to help Lee, both she and Luke had wandered around with no aim or purpose other than survival. It was only when they were even further north, when Clementine was seventeen, up in the near abandoned city of Chicago when Clementine had broached her plan to her older companion.

" _Luke, can I ask something?" the woman asks quietly, picking at her worn through T-Shirt._

" _Sure, on the condition it's not about the birds and the bees." Luke jokes._

" _Ha ha." Clementine laughs sarcastically, her voice dry. "It's just, do you remember my friend Lee?" she asks quietly, chewing her lip. Her golden eyes shine with tears for a few moments. Luke gives her a moment to settle, and he hears her taking a shuddering breath._

" _Yeah, the guy you told me about after you sewed your arm up." he nods slowly. "Need to vent?"_

 _"No, no, it's just... Did I tell you that I left him to turn?" she sounds guilty, scuffing her shoes._

" _Uh, yeah, I think so." Luke says quietly, looking up at her. He doesn't attempt to crack any jokes, knowing how serious the girl can be when she talks about her fallen friend Lee._

" _I've been thinking a lot and... Well, I was wondering if we could head back to Savannah together. So I could … 'Help him'." she holds up her gun significantly, a sombre look on her face._

" _Oh, uh..." the farm boy is completely stumped by that, and for a few moments he sits perfectly still and doesn't say anything. The journey back to Georgia would be a long one, and he isn't sure he is up for it. He knows how much it means to Clementine, but..._

" _Please?" Clementine pleads, her voice hardly louder than a whisper, staring at her friend._

" _All right, Clem." he says with a wry smile. "Let's go help Lee."_

And that had been that, the journey had begun. They had to harshly ration their supplies as the journey wore on, but thankfully they had gotten lucky on a few occasions – one example was a year ago, when the two had happened upon a large amount of painkillers at an abandoned field hospital, and they had gone on to trade some of these medical supplies with another survivor in return for several months worth of food. While it had tasted like canned shit, it had kept starvation at bay. And that's all that matters when you're struggling to survive in the apocalypse. Thankfully, water had never been an issue for the two – keeping near to the coast had certainly had its benefits.

Clementine reaches into her backpack and pulls out a can of tinned food. She doesn't bother to read the label, instead focussing on cleaning her knife before cutting open the can. Walker blood and food doesn't sound like a healthy mix. Satisfied that the knife is clean, she sets about peeling the can open. She punctures the can with a sharp stab, before dragging in a circle. She sighs relievedly as she sees the contents are still unspoiled. She smiles, looking up at Luke.

"Luke! Do you want any of this?" Clementine asks her friend, who looks over from the tent he's setting up. She raises the can so he can see it, and he squints to read it for a moment, before nodding.

"Sure, save me whatever you don't eat." he calls back, going back to pitching the tent.

"Will do." she replies, before scooping some of the contents up with her right hand. She resigns herself to eating the mushy tomatoes and hesitantly takes a bite of them. She chews for a few moments, grimacing at the texture. She swallows and waits for a moment, tilting her head. She waits to see if there is a sickening after taste, like the mushrooms she had eaten two months ago. After ascertaining that the tomatoes are indeed safe to eat, she goes about eating the mushy dinner, remembering back to the Motor Inn, when food rations were an energy bar, or maybe half of an apple. Never a _whole_ can of food.

At the current moment, Clementine honestly couldn't figure out which she would prefer – half an apple or a can of mushy tomatoes. The woman hums to herself as she eats, weighing up the options in her mind. As it stood, right now Clementine was leaning towards the apple. Not because she was picky, mind you. Mostly because she wanted a solid piece of food which _didn't_ taste like shit. Call her crazy. Clementine chews a tomato bitterly, cursing her rotten luck when it comes to food.

She's not ungrateful, though. She understands that there are survivors starving to death every passing day, and she's grateful not to be one of them. But being grateful only makes food taste a little nicer. And no matter how grateful the nineteen year old is, she finds it impossible to enjoy eating the decade old canned food. Though it did help.

The young woman jumps slightly as her companion sits next to her. Luke chuckles at her reaction.

"You looked a million miles away, kid." he says quietly. Clementine shrugs, taking another scoop of tomatoes from the can. "You all right?" he asks. The young woman shrugs again, looking at the fire. She eats silently for a couple of minutes, a grimace on her face as she swallows another couple of mouthfuls of the canned fruit. She looks to her friend, then back at the can.

"I'm full." she announces suddenly, handing the can to Luke. Luke raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything immediately. He looks inside the half full can, and looks at his young companion.

"You sure, there's still a good amount left." he tells her, holding the can out for her. She shakes her head, smiling at the kind gesture. He waves the can in her face, and she laughs. She pushes the can out of her face, and clears her throat.

"Luke, I'm not a little girl anymore." she smiles wearily. "You need to eat too, you look like shit."

"Tell me how you really feel about it." he laughs. Clementine smiles back, scuffing her trainers against the ground. "Thanks, Clem." he wolfs the food down, the squishy food rapidly filling his ravenous stomach. He finishes the can off quickly, Clementine looking over in wonder at how rapidly he empties the can of food, considering how foul the contents had tasted.

"How many more cans do we have?" Clementine asks softly, gesturing to the can as he tosses it to one side. The can clatters eerily in the night, and the two pause for a moment to watch it roll away.

"Enough for a couple of weeks, yet." Luke tells her, a reassuring look on his face. Clementine nods, satisfied her friend is telling the truth … For once. Clementine picks at her jeans loose threads as she looks back at the fires, smiling at the warmth it brings. She glances across at Luke, and sees him consulting the map of the east coast they'd picked up back in Chicago. Clementine looks back at the flickering camp fire, and uses her foot to shift some more twigs onto the pile.

"Luke?" she speaks up after a couple of minutes of this mindless activity.

"Yeah?" he looks up from the map, a tired look on his face.

"How far is Savannah?" she can't refrain from asking, a shy look on her face.

"Well, we're still in North Carolina. 'Least, I think so." he looks uncertain, pointing at a location near the sea on his map. Clementine looks at it with undivided attention. "No, yeah, we're in North Carolina."

"That's not too far away." the nineteen year old rubs her forehead, smiling ever so slightly.

"Yeah, we're gettin' real close. Now, we're near enough to Jacksonville – the forest we went through to dodge the walkers was that national park." he indicates the forest marked just a little north-east of Jacksonville. "So, I reckon we're …" he makes a line between the two with his pointer finger, deep in thought. "I dunno, I'd say no more than three-hundred miles away." Clementine nods, satisfied with the answer.

"We'll be done in no time." she mutters, rubbing her face.

She had definitely underestimated the distance from Chicago to Savannah. She had foolishly guesstimated the journey taking them a couple of months. She had completely forgotten about the trek she and Christa had undertaken, travelling from that truck stop in Georgia to North Carolina. It had taken eighteen months, and Clementine vividly remembers hating every single day of it. Her and Christa had grown distanced, and despite several attempts to try and re-kindle their friendship, things between them had never been the same again after Omid was killed.

" _Happy birthday Christa!" Clementine says as enthusiastically as possible. Christa sighs. "I made you a card." Clementine continues, undeterred by her friends silence. She holds out the piece of paper, and Christa slowly takes it. The woman reads it tiredly. "Did you like it?" Clementine asks, awkward. Christa hands her the folded piece of paper back, and Clem looks up at her sadly._

" _Clem... Just... Let's keep moving." Christa mutters, shifting her pistol in her grip. Her worn out facial expression hadn't changed at all throughout the entire exchange. Clementine sighs and pushes the make-shift card into her backpack, her shoulders slumped as she follows after her._

Her feet feel thoroughly worn out from their continuous walking. There were rarely opportunities to rest, however. The only times they allowed rest was if they were injured – for example, two weeks ago, after Clementine had sprained her ankle during a fight with a particularly rugged walker. She had told Luke that she was desperate to keep moving, but Luke had insisted she rested for a few days. So they had hunkered down in an abandoned apartment building, where Clementine had spent most of her time in bed, usually looking at the picture of Lee and the map, revising their projected route over and over in her head until it was all she thought of. In truth, she was grateful for the time off the road. She had the feeling that Luke knew this, despite her frequent complaints about wanting to go outside. The knowing roll of his eyes as she had ranted on about how stuffy the apartment was, or the chuckle that had escaped his lips as she went on about the million things she'd rather be doing as opposed to lying in bed. She had been thoroughly pissed off when she had sprained her ankle, all swearing and hitting the floor in frustration, tears of anger trickling down her cheeks as Luke ran over, fear lining his features as he saw Clementine clutching her ankle.

" _Shit, Clem, you okay?!" Luke asks frantically, crouching next to her. She shakes her head._

" _No, my fu – Ouch! - My ankle really hurts, Luke." she looks up at him fearfully._

" _Here, let me -" he makes to touch it, and Clementine recoils vehemently._

 _"OUCH!" she shouts, wincing in pain._

" _You must have sprained it, gimme your arm." he says. Clementine wraps her arm around his neck, and he helps her up. "You need to rest up, kid." he eases her along._

" _No, no I'm good, we need to keep – Ouch!" Luke looks over at that, completely unconvinced._

" _You're resting your ankle, we don't want it getting worse." he tells her firmly._

" _But -" she starts, tears in her eyes – whether from pain or being upset, Luke isn't sure._

 _"But nothing." he chuckles, hefting her towards a nearby apartment building._

Her ankle had a nasty sprain, and they had been forced to wait around for a while. Luke had headed out in the evenings to loot the nearby buildings for any and all supplies. Clementine had been in a particularly foul mood whenever Luke went out, envious of him having the freedom to do that if he wanted, while she had no choice but to lie down and find ways to amuse herself. Whenever she wasn't reading the map, she was reading one of the many chapter books that had been abandoned in the room, or doodling in the notebook she had found in a trash bin in the living room. She had loved drawing when she was little, and it was a hobby she still enjoyed at nineteen. However, there simply wasn't enough time to sit around and draw usually, and by the time they'd set up camp in the evenings she was always too tired to sit down and draw. Sleeping was always a superior alternative nowadays, in her mind. A complete one-eighty from when she was little, when sleeping was the absolute _worst._

Clementine moves her ankle, smiling at the feeling of it actually working again. She stretches her arms above her head, letting out a pleased sigh as her back arches. She feels a wave of tiredness, and stifles a yawn behind a closed fist. Luke looks over, smiling at the woman.

"You look tired." he observes, watching her yawn. She nods, lowering her hand.

"I _am_ tired. But then who isn't?" she reasons, looking back to the fire. Her brow furrows.

"Something on your mind?" he asks, noticing her frown.

"Lee." she replies shortly. Luke nods, watching her carefully. Clementine sighs.

"Anything about him in particular?" he asks her. She sighs again, propping her chin up with her hands. She rests her elbows on her knees and thinks for a few moments.

"What I'm going to say when I see him again." Clementine says, her voice gentle and soft. Luke notices an ever so faint smile crosses her lips. He lets his young companion sit in silence, knowing she often prefers to think about Lee alone.

Clementine sits quietly, grateful that Luke isn't disturbing her. Sometimes she just likes to be alone. It's easy for hopelessness and fear to root itself in one's brain when the end of the world is going on. Though she acts brave, and pretends to be fearless, the young woman is constantly plagued by miserable and bleak thoughts. The optimism she had exhibited when she was a shy and quiet eight year old have vanished, replaced now by a bitter determination to keep herself and Luke safe at any costs. She has a moral code, as any sane minded person does, but that doesn't make her afraid to hurt someone if it means keeping her only friend out of harms way.

Lee had been the same, she supposes. Back at the motor inn, he had killed his fair share of bandits when they had all bundled into the RV. Lee had looked horrible as they set off, a look of guilt in his eyes. He looked pale, and he had an expression on his face as if he was about to be sick. She had watched as he hid it when Lilly started waving the finger at people, accusing Carley and Ben of stealing supplies. When she was little, she had always wondered how Lee could push his feelings to one side when he needed to think. However, as she had gotten older, she had slowly learnt how to mask her feelings. And now, at nineteen years of age, Clementine was something of a master at hiding her emotions. Her eyes flick across to her friend, and she flashes him a smile. Luke returns it weakly, before looking up at the stars. He squints, trying to count them as he thinks to himself.

Luke worries about her, a lot. He would never tell her that, knowing the nineteen year old would in all likelihood would rip on him for it until the end of time. But she was a puzzle. She would say one thing but clearly be thinking another. He always notices when she hides how she feels, the emotion she's trying to repress flitting across her face. Luke can't help but view his travelling companion as something of a little sister. And he's fairly sure she reciprocates the feeling to some extent, looking up to him as a big brother.

Clementine fidgets, hugging herself as a cold breeze waits in the air around them. She breathes out shakily, her teeth chattering. Luke looks over at her.

"Do your jacket up if you're cold." Luke tells her, an admonishing tone in his voice. Clementine chuckles, wrapping her arms around herself a little tighter.

"It'll pass in a second, I'll be fine." she mutters. As if by magic, as she finishes talking, the wind settles. Clementine breathes out, shifting her arms so she's crossing them over her legs. "See?"

"All right, don't let it get to your head." Luke chuckles, looking towards the tent. "You should get some rest soon, Clem." he looks back at her in time to see her roll her eyes. "Saw that."

"I'll rest soon, I want to stay up for a bit." Clementine tells him tiredly.

"Any reason?" he prods, looking at her. Clementine pauses for a few moments.

"Nope." she says quietly. Luke knows she's lying, but he doesn't want to offend her by calling her out on it. So he just nods, pretending to agree with her. Clementine sighs gently, looking at the star streaked sky. The night sky is as black as tar.

"What's on your mind, Clem?" Luke asks. Clementine chews her lip, thinking her answer over for a few seconds.

"Nothing, I'm just..." she sighs, rubbing her face. "I'm tired, Luke. That's all."

"You want to talk?" Luke gives her a slightly worried look. Clementine shakes her head.

"Not massively." she admits, fiddling with her jacket pockets.

"Okay then." he says, his voice gentle, before looking away.

Clementine withdraws her pistol and pulls the slide back, counting the rounds inside. She winces as she counts four. She reaches into one of her jacket pockets and feels around, counting in her head how many magazines she has stashed in there. Her lips turn to a slight smile, satisfied her and her companion will reach Savannah with plenty to spare. She engages the safety of her handgun and pushes it back into her jeans. She runs her fingers through the back of her hair, breathing out slowly as she thinks about Lee.

She can't help but worry about what will happen when she gets back to Lee. She knows she had handcuffed him to the radiator, but a lot can happen in ten years. Maybe other survivors stumbled upon him and killed him. Maybe his wrist gave way and he's now shambling around that blood drenched city. Clementine sighs. She knows it's futile to worry about things like this, that no matter how much she worries she can't change _anything_ until she gets to Savannah. But that doesn't help her any as she tosses and turns late at night, trying to fall asleep.

When she finally does catch sleep, though, those fears haunt her in the form of nightmares. Grotesque images of Lee in agony, screaming in anguish as he tries free himself from the handcuffs he's bound by. Shouting how much he hates Clementine for abandoning him, his face a horrible image of anger and fear. Or sometimes it's her parents, reaching towards their daughter to grab her and pull her close. Clementine always fights her parents grip in her nightmares, knowing all too well what will happen when they get close enough. The piercing feeling of them biting into her and ripping with their jagged teeth, flesh being stripped from bone. Whenever her parents appear in her dreams, Clementine wakes up screaming and crying. Drenched in a cold sweat, she can never get back to sleep after those nightmares. After that she ends up sitting in her sleep bag for hours while she waits for the sun to come up, hugging her knees close to her as she sniffles and whimpers to herself. Luke has only noticed her having the nightmare once, as far as she's aware.

" _You okay, Clem?" he asks, sitting up and rubbing his eyes._

" _I saw my parents." she whispers, looking over at him with wide eyes. Luke sighs._

" _Need to talk?" the farm boy looks at her. She shakes her head, bowing her head and drying her eyes with her sleeping bag. He smiles and gives her a second. "Need a hug?"_

 _There's a few moments wherein neither party does anything._

 _The woman nods, smiling slightly and looking at her friend with her golden eyes._

The two had shared a tender moment at that point, a rare occurrence in the apocalypse. The last time she had felt like that with someone was all the way back on the RV, the night Carley had died and she had found out Duck was bitten, when Lee had sat down next to her and held her close with one arm.

" _I'm glad I have you, though." Lee looks down at her and smiles. Clementine smiles shyly back._

" _Me, too." she tells him, keeping her voice quiet to not disturb Kenny._

Clementine looks across at Luke, stretching again.

"You look tired." Luke says gently. Clementine nods.

"I'm exhausted." she replies quietly. She yawns, before looking at her friend. "I might go to sleep now, Luke." Clementine looks longingly at the tent as she says it.

"Might be smart, kid." he tells her. "I'll keep watch for a little while, make sure there are no walkers nearby or anything like that. Then I'll try catch some shut-eye myself."

"Okay, cool." Clementine says, standing up and brushing her jeans off. She picks up her backpack in one hand, hefting it up with a grunt as she walks towards the tent, her eyelids heavy. "Night, Luke." she calls over her shoulder. Luke looks over to her.

"G'night, Clem." he says warmly back.

Clementine ducks into the tent, dropping her pack next to her sleeping bag. She unzips the grey sleeping bag and slips inside, hugging herself as she zips it up. She looks up at the roof of the tent, quietly thankful as she hears rain start to fall against the tent. She feels a little sorry for Luke as he hears his shocked cries, the rain turning quickly into a downpour. That pity turns to giggles, however, as she hears Luke calling the Carolina weather "complete bullshit". She withdraws the picture of Lee, and looks at it for a few moments, before yawning for the umpteenth time. She cuddles herself close with her left arm, holding the torn picture with her right. She smiles at the image of her former mentor, finding comfort in the smile on Lee's face.

"Please hold on, Lee... I'm coming for you." she whispers. She tucks the picture into her pocket for safe keeping, and removes her pistol from her jeans. She lays the pistol next to her backpack, before turning over and closing her eyes.


	2. Chapter Two - No Mercy

A/N :

Hey everyone, and welcome back!

First of all, a huge thank you for one hundred and fifty nine views! That's staggering to me, and I'm really happy that people seemed to enjoy it. Thank you, everyone!

So, chapter two. Longer than the first one, but I had a clearer idea of what was going to happen going in. Thus why it's taken less time to write.

Like before, I'm _really_ nervous about sharing this. A little bit shaky right now. I really hope you all enjoy this second chapter! I don't want to mess up what I thought was a solid first chapter, but I think this is a good follow up!

Now, as promised, I'll go ahead and respond to the reviews I have in chronological order. Sorry for the incoming near wall of text:

Guest 1 : First of all, thank you for the request! And, also, kudos to you for being so polite while asking me. Now, in terms of Lee x Older Clementine, I'm not sure about the idea in the romantic sense of the pairing. I feel the family bond they make through Season One would be more genuine to write about than a romantic bond. However, I am considering writing a story once "A Long Walk Home" is finished about Lee surviving the events of Season One and the effects it could have had on Season Two. I'm really happy you seem to enjoy my portrayal of a nineteen year old Clementine enough to request another story about her! I'm quite happy how my portrayal of an older Clementine has turned out.

Guest 2 : Thanks, dude and/or lady! That's really flattering to read. Besides the clerical errors I made in regards to some names, I do pride myself on being able to critically proof read my own work. Thanks for the compliment, it was really nice to read when it came through!

TheDomdotCom : Holy crap, thank you for all that! When your review came through, I quite literally punched the air and did a little jig at the glowing compliments. I'm really humbled you took the time to write out such a well thought out review. Further, thanks for giving me a heads up about the mixed up names. Initially, I wasn't sure whether to have Kenny or Luke as the second protagonist. I was leaning towards Kenny when I wrote my first draft, but changed to Luke about three quarters , I was editing at about two in the morning and completely forgot to change some of the names back around - especially during the Carver sequence. I'm really happy you liked the flashback sequences, I was really happy with how they turned out. The AU-ish setting daunted me at first, and I thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew when I started to write it. The end result made me pretty happy, mind you. I genuinely hope you like this new chapter, I think it adds quite well to the first chapter. Thanks so much!

Guest 3 : Thank you for the kind words, truly made me grin from ear to ear. You're amazing!

Guest 4 : Second ever request! Wow, thanks for reviewing. First of all, I hope you enjoy my writing style. You seem to enjoy it, seeing as you want me to write a CarLee story. Now, I will confess I really liked the camaraderie between Carley and Lee in Season One. Carley was one of my favourite characters in the two games, and I really wish she made it through Season One. One idea I had was that whoever you saved in Episode One would be Clementine's guardian at the beginning of Episode One of Season Two. But I digress. As I mentioned in regard to Guest 1, I was thinking of writing a story about Lee and an older Clementine surviving together in the apocalypse. I was actually considering including Carley in this future story, but I'm unsure. For one, I'm utterly terrible at writing romance - namely because I'm terrible at writing convincingly for the opposite gender, because I don't talk to girls too often. But hey, it's a possibility!

Right, that's all the reviews for now. Jeepers, that's a fair bit of writing. Please feel free to leave any reviews, suggestions or critiques in a review at the end of this chapter. I'll get back to you all in the A/N of chapter three! Thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed and followed. I'll see you next time!

Edit : 23:00 GMT 28/08/2016

Aaah, _No Mercy._ Quite possibly my favourite chapter from a writing standpoint. This one took me a little while to re-write, just fixing grammar, but not too much has changed in terms of content.

 _ **Act One - Making Plans**_

Added a few words to the flashback to the train, to illustrate (my) Lee's hesitation to risk the group's lives for Clementine's undead parents:

 _"Clem..."  
_

 _"We'll be in Savannah! And my parents were in Savannah, before it all started. They have to be okay!"_

I decided to re word Luke's first words after he wakes up, to make it seem a little more convincing with how he greets her in the morning.

 _"Mornin', Clem." he greets her gently, looking at his young friend with tired eyes._

 _"Morning."_

 _"You been up long?" he asks, slumping next to her._

 ** _Act Two - Laurens County Memorial Hospital_**

Corrected grammar and spellings. No content change of note, here, just a little bit of TLC to make it read nicer.

 ** _Act Three - The Bandits_**

This one saw the most attention in the chapter in terms of slight alterations.

I added to the description of "the second bandit", in order to add a little bit to the character in my humble opinion.

 _A horrible burning smell comes off him, making the young woman's nose crinkle as she runs her eyes up and down him as quickly as possible. He looks... Wrong._

I changed some words around in Nate's spiel - a few too many to list here, really.

Furthermore, I changed the description of the group of bandits a little bit to keep consistent with some of the changes I added:

 _Her nose crinkles as she recognises the burning smell that is coming from Nate is coming off the other bandits, too._

Finally, I changed a few words in the flashback to teaching Clem to shoot. I wanted to deviate just a little from the game, to make it look a little bit more like Clementine's not such a fast learner with knowing where to aimL

" _To aim, you look right down the top. See? Just through that notch." Lee says, crouching next to her and pointing at the end of the little girl's pistol._

\- BHBrowne

* * *

Clementine yawns as she looks at the rising sun, smiling at the gorgeous sight. She nudges the camp fire before her with a stick, keeping the flame fed and going. Luke is still asleep in the tent, leaving Clementine to think to herself.

They're so close, now.

Currently, the two travellers are in rural South Carolina. They had crossed the rest of North Carolina in just under a week, and currently they are camping in a dense woodland area. A river runs next to them, bringing with it the ever welcome presence of fresh, clean water. The young woman has an insatiable desire to keep moving, now that they're so close to Georgia. Luke, on the other hand, is insistent that the two must remain vigilant and maintain the same steady pace that has gotten them this far.

Clementine sighs, looking back at the tent where her friend is sleeping. She doesn't resent him for wanting to move slowly, but her patience with his "safety first" routine is wearing thin. But then, Lee was similar back on the train. When the two had started making a plan, little Clementine had assumed that Lee was eager to look for her parents as well. However, he had instead planned to focus on their safety. Clementine at the time was pretty angry with him, but that quickly changed when Lee promised they'd have a look around for her parents before focussing on getting out of Savannah.

" _We have to help Kenny and the others find a boat. It's our best chance at safety, Clementine." Lee tells her solemnly, a sad look on his face. Clementine immediately starts shaking her head._

" _No, I don't care about safety! I care about finding my mom and dad!" Clementine complains, looking across at the ex-teacher. He sighs and looks down at the map, deep in thought. Her features fall, feeling hurt that Lee doesn't seem to want to find her parents. Maybe the man on her walkie talkie is right about him, after all._

 _"Clem..."  
_

 _"We'll be in Savannah! And my parents were in Savannah, before it all started. They have to be okay!"_

" _Okay, okay... We'll have a look around for them, but then we have to focus on the boat. It's just gotten too dangerous on land, sweet pea." he smiles faintly, and Clementine returns it._

 _"But we will look for my parents, right?" she asks eagerly. Lee looks away for a moment, chewing his lip. He looks down at his shoes, before slowly bringing his gaze back to Clementine._

 _"Yeah, of course." he says calmly, and Clementine looks delighted._

Something had seemed a little off about Lee as he had promised to help look for her parents. The chewing of his lip, his hesitation to answer. The way his eyes kept flitting around the train car while he was evidently thinking very hard. Clementine had, at the time, figured he was just nervous about meeting the little girls parents. However, looking back on it with hindsight, Clementine can now see this wasn't the case at all. He had known. He had known they were dead, but had lied to keep her happy. To help her maintain hope. It was just unfortunate that his efforts to keep her morale up had the inadvertent consequence of him getting bitten.

She sighs and adjusts her cap on her head, pushing the bill out of her eyes. She scowls at the inconvenience the hat brings, but the scowl turns to a smile as she remembers what the hat represents. Her lovable, if a little bossy, dad. She wishes her last words to them could have been different. The last time they had spoken was on the phone, after Sandra had brought the phone to her outside the tree-house.

" _We love you Clem!" her mother coos down the phone._

" _We love you, hon." her dad speaks up, sounding cheerful. The little eight year old smiles, temporarily forgetting all about the baby raccoon hiding in her tree-house entirely. She shifts the phone in her hands so she can talk into it easier._

" _I love you too... I miss you." she says, the smile still on her face._

 _"Don't worry sweetie, we'll be home in a few days." Clementine's face lights up at her mothers promise, and she pushes the brim of her father's hat up again._

" _Okay, see you soon." she looks over at the tree-house as the raccoon squeaks._

And that was that. The last words she had ever said to her parents.

She stretches, counting slowly to ten before releasing. Clementine feels her heart pound at the thought of seeing Lee soon. She knows he won't recognise her. He's just a dead body that's been given a spark of life. No emotion, or thought, or … Anything. Nothing that made Lee the person she so admires. Just flesh and bone, and a never ending hunger for human flesh.

But she'll still see Lee again, and that's enough for her. She finds herself shaking, so reaches into her pocket and withdraws the picture of Lee. Her knotted stomach relaxes, and she smiles at the worn out picture of her old mentor. She takes a couple of deep breaths, calming herself down.

"Calm down, Clem." she mutters to herself. "You have to be brave. For Lee, and everyone else." Clementine feels her cheeks going damp, and curses weakly. _God damnit._ She stashes the photo away before drying her eyes hastily. She wipes them away with her sleeves, sniffling to herself. She looks at the fire she has going, finding the soothing sounds therapeutic.

The woman hears movement, and the calm she has worked so hard to build shatters. She twists on the spot suddenly, snatching her pistol up. She aims her handgun around, ready for a fight.

She relaxes herself instantly when she sees Luke emerge from the tent, rubbing his eyes. He stifles a yawn behind his hand before looking at his friend. The two share a smile.

"Mornin', Clem." he greets her gently, looking at his young friend with tired eyes.

"Morning."

"You been up long?" he asks, slumping next to her.

"No, not really." she says lightly, looking back out at the sunrise. "I got the fire started." she states blandly, pointing at the crackling flames.

"Nice work." he says quietly, rubbing his eyes with his palms.

"Are you okay?" Clementine asks, tilting her head. "You don't look right."

"Thanks, Clem." he laughs softly. "I'm just exhausted, Clem. I need a little more rest, that's all."

"We're getting really close to Savannah now." Clementine mumbles. "We can rest after."

"Clem." Luke states calmly. "You need sleep, too. You're not a machine."

"I'm fine." Clementine lies, rubbing her eyes. Luke narrows his eyes ever so slightly.

"Well, I could use the rest." Luke says gently. "I'm not as tough as you, Clementine." he looks to his friend, who looks a little annoyed. The woman sighs, thinking. "Just a little while, so we can rest up. Then we'll get to Savannah and help out Lee." Clementine looks at Luke for a couple of seconds, before bowing her head. She nods slowly, breathing out.

"Okay, Luke... But we won't rest for long, right?" she asks quietly.

"Nah, just a couple nights. We could both use the rest."

"Okay, okay." Clementine says, eager to keep Luke on her side. She's not crazy about the prospect of sitting around all over again, but then again she'd rather rest up now then collapse at the city outskirts, or in front of Lee.

Clementine isn't a stranger to arguments about either resting or moving. Kenny and Lilly always argued about it back at the motor inn, and Clementine remembers with a frown how Lee would always try and maintain the middle ground. It never worked, of course. He would always be forced to pick sides. Clementine sympathises with his plight, remembering how she had to try and maintain the peace between the ski lodge group and the cabin group at only eleven years old. At least she did, before Carver had showed up, and ruined everything more than it had already been ruined by the walkers attacking throughout the week.

Clementine fiddles with her pistol, itching to keep moving. She knows, however, that she's already conceded the argument to Luke. Fiddling with the gun is just another way to pass the time for the woman, if a little more morbid than drawing or sleeping. She huffs, bored, before putting the gun back down. She notices Luke breathe out, seemingly relieved. Luke always gets a little wary whenever Clementine holds her gun, for some reason.

"What're we going to do today, then?" Clementine asks lowly. "If we aren't moving."

"Get some supplies, probably." Luke says, stretching luxuriously. "We could always use more food and medicine." he reasons, rummaging through his backpack.

"Do we have enough?" Clementine asks worriedly.

"For now, yeah." Luke says grimly. "But after Savannah, we're going to be pretty low on food. And medicine is always something we could hold on to."

"What about ammo?" Clementine asks, scratching her neck with one hand while gesturing to her pistol with the other. "I don't have many for my gun, I dunno about yours."

"Nah, I don't have many bullets either... Two magazines, tops." he mutters, pushing said magazines away to one side as he searches further in his backpack.

"Where could we get some?" Clementine asks as Luke withdraws his map. Luke unfolds the map, and Clementine sits up a little straighter. Luke looks hard for a few moments, frowning in concentration. Clementine runs an eye over the map, smiling as she notices how far they've come since they started their trek.

"I have no clue about ammo, but we're not _too_ far from a hospital for medicine. But it might have been scavenged by other survivors or bandits a little while ago – we're hardly the first people through here, are we?" Luke quirks an eyebrow at the nineteen year old as he says it. Clem cracks a smile at the farm boys observation.

"Hardly." she repeats the word, looking at where Luke is pointing. "So we check the hospital?"

"Sounds like a better idea than sitting around all day." he shrugs. "We should head out soon."

"How far is it?" Clementine asks quietly, pushing her pistol into her jeans. She pushes her knife into the sheathe she has on her thigh, before looking back at the map.

"If I had to guess, about a half hours walk away. Or maybe forty-five." he chuckles.

"Which is it?" the woman looks at him impatiently. She doesn't _want_ to be going to the hospital, and Luke knows it. Luke clearly picks up on her tone, because he thinks hard for a few seconds.

"I'd have to say half an hour, Clem." he says, running fingers through his hair. Clementine nods.

"All right, we'll head out soon. We'll try not to take too long." she says, looking in the direction of the hospital. No walkers, no bandits. At least not in sight.

"Agreed." Luke says, looping his sheathe over his coat. He smiles at her, and she returns it half heartedly. She looks at the forest floor, a genuine smile on her face at the pleasant silence, glad she doesn't have to focus on talking any more. She stretches again, making herself as comfortable as possible while she can. Not much time for comfort when the dead are snapping at your heels, or a bandit is threatening to do their absolute worst if you don't come out _right fucking now,_ in their words.

Clementine does her jacket most the way up, before buttoning up the sleeves. She knows how important it is to keep as little of your body exposed as possible, with as thick clothing as possible. Too many people have been bitten on parts of their body that haven't been covered up. Lee, for instance, got bitten through his thin navy shirt. And even though he hacked off his arm, he had died in Savannah. And Duck was bitten through _his_ shirt, which had lead to him having to be shot out in the woods near the train. Clementine has learned to wear thick clothes, like her jacket, and to keep an eye on anything that isn't heavily padded. Clementine watches her ankles whenever she's running from a walker or five, remembering all too well that Pete had been bitten there.

Fighting walkers, it isn't always the answer. Sometimes it's just running as fast as you can, to escape and maybe fight another day.

" _I'll go... I'll leave you! I'll go as fast as I can!" she weeps, staring up at her dying friend._

" _And as safe as you can... Always be safe." he whispers, his eyes shutting for a moment._

Clementine has been careful to follow that mantra. As fast as she can, and as safe as she can. She's learnt when to cut and run if need be. Luke respects that in her. The distinction between being brave, and being suicidal. Clementine respects the fine line between the two concepts, which is seemingly a rare thing nowadays. Many-a-time the two have to sit and listen, late at night, to the sounds of gunshots in the distance. Screams piercing the night, from survivors who hadn't respected that line and had to pay the ultimate price. The atmosphere between Luke and Clementine is always sombre whenever they hear the gut-wrenching screams of a poor, innocent survivor.

Yet they can never muster the nerve to risk almost certain death for someone who had gotten themselves into the foolish situation to begin with. Not because they have stone hearts, but because they had gotten this far from being careful and sensible. Never from being risky. Before their trek to Savannah, they had tried to help survivors in those situations. But after they had watched a woman get torn apart in a town near Memphis, the two came to the decision that not everyone could be saved. That, and that they shouldn't always risk everything for total strangers.

Especially when some groups of bandits were exceptionally clever, and used people in danger as bait to lure in survivors. And when survivors arrived to help, men with guns would appear and stick up the innocent people who had just been trying to help. The end result was never something one would want to stick around and see, no matter how desensitised they thought they were.

Clementine has no love for bandits. She considers them the lowest kind of person, worse even than the walkers. People who go out of their way to hurt other people for their hard earned stuff. She thinks of them as dangerous animals, a blight on the horrific world they live in now.

The young woman slips back into the tent, crouching in front of her backpack. She scoops up her various belongings within the tent and places them in front of her. She sits cross legged on the floor of the tent and reaches for the chapter book she carries with her, placing it in the bottom of her pack. As she packs her bag, she thinks sadly of what her parents and Lee would think of her now. A rugged survivor, who is nothing like the innocent little girl she had been when the plague had began. Her parents would probably be disgusted by some of the things their daughter had done. And Lee. He had taught her to always think of other people, to strive to be a moral person even in a world without morals. To fight for the hope of a better tomorrow. Not to leave innocent people to die. Not to abandon their friends and leave them to become walkers. Lee had been terrified of being a walker. It was his biggest fear, from what she understood. Clementine had heard him talking to Carley about it once, late at night when the little girl was supposed to be sleeping.

" _Fuck, Car, I mean..." Lee breathes out, rubbing his face with his palms. "Imagine hurting someone, and not being able to stop yourself in any way at all. No matter how hard you tried, no matter what you wanted, you can do nothing but hurt everyone and everything you see."_

And yet she had ran for it, too scared to help him. She hates herself for it. In her mind, she's failed him in every single sense of the word. She should've shot him. She sighs, a groan slipping out of her lips as she puts her head in her hands while she thinks. She should've swallowed her fears and shot her friend, spared him the agony of being a walker.

She sighs weakly, opening her eyes and moving her hands away from her face. She's determined now. To never allow history to repeat itself. No one should have to suffer on once they're dead, that should just be that. She looks up at the roof of the tent, and promises to herself that she will never leave someone to turn again. Mercy is a rare thing to happen upon in the days of the apocalypse, and Clementine is desperate to be one of the survivors who do bestow it upon others. No matter the risk to herself, she swears that she will not let people come back as walkers. No one deserves it.

She looks down at her bag, and smiles to herself before withdrawing the chapter book she had previously pushed deep inside. She brushes off the cover, tilting her head as she flicks her eyes up and down the front cover. The nineteen year old reads the title, and swallows the lump in her throat.

The Guurgles.

After finding it in an abandoned book store, Clementine had kept it in her bag. Something to remember innocent Sarah by. The young woman has never gotten around to reading it, apart from the two chapters she had read back at the cabin with Sarah, but she was desperate to after Savannah. As something to keep her busy after helping Lee, or at the very least to keep her spirits up after seeing her friend on his way.

Clementine puts the book back in her backpack, before zipping it up firmly. She grunts as she lifts it up, momentarily surprised by the weight of the bag. With a little effort, Clementine slings it over her shoulders before rolling up her sleeping bag, her fingers hastily tying the bag closed. She swears under her breath as the cord slips from her fingers. She grabs it and ties it tight. She flexes the cord, testing to see if it unravels. Satisfied it will hold, the young woman cracks a smile.

"There you go." she murmurs, hoisting it under her backpack. She treads out the tent, and sees Luke stashing his gear into his pack. "I'm good to go when you are." she tells the man, who nods.

"All right, nice. I'll just need to pack up the tent, then we'll hit up the hospital."

"Could we not just leave it behind?" Clementine asks, looking at it. "We'll just be going there and back, right? That's only a couple of hours."

"I don't want to risk losing a tent, Clem, else I'd agree with you." he looks up at her and flashes his companion a brief smile, before looking back at the tent. "This tent is a pain in the ass to disassemble, though, so I don't think I'd be too mad if we lost it." he chuckles, making to take it down. His chuckle turns to a scowl as he crouches next to the tent, remembering all the other times he had taken down the fiddly piece of camping equipment.

"Need a hand?" Clementine asks, making to help her friend out. The man shakes his head.

"Nah, you keep an eye out." he tells her. "Don't want anything to slip up on us."

"Yeah, sure, Luke." she smiles, drawing her pistol. She holds it loosely in her hands, looking around slowly. She listens attentively for any movement. A fruitless task, given her friends loud disassembly of the tent. Clementine breathes out slowly, shutting her eyes as Luke rants to himself. "Stupid fuckin' tent." he says quietly, over and over. His voice grows louder and louder, and Clementine bites back a chuckle.

"Can you keep it down? I'm trying to listen for walkers." she asks of him, her shoulders shaking from a fit of repressed giggles at her friends 'plight'.

"You try takin' this tent down quietly, then I'll keep it down." Luke says impatiently, growling to himself as the tent fails to do as he wants it to do.

"Sure you will." Clementine says, her voice sarcastic. Luke just sighs in response, and Clementine laughs to herself. She focusses after a few moments, rolling her shoulders as she stands watch.

Tuning out the sound of her friends struggle with the tent, Clementine pays undivided attention to the woods around her. She listens for the faintest sounds of trouble on its way. The snapping of a branch underfoot. The hushed whispers between bandits as they close in on unsuspecting victims. The groans of the living dead. Anything that could give away any potential threats.

All is calm, however, and so the two survivors work in silence. The young woman cocks her head to one side, concentrating hard on keeping herself and her last living friend safe. Nothing is in sight, however, and Clementine feels herself relaxing a little more with every passing moment. Luke lets out a delighted shout, making Clementine flinch. She twists on the spot, her heart pounding. She whips her pistol around, checking every direction as quickly as possible. She narrows her eyes as she peers into the distance, trying to see if anything has come to investigate the loud noise. She glowers at Luke. Clementine looks supremely unimpressed at his foolish antics. Luke looks up at her, looking like he's stifling a set of giggles at her impatient nature.

"Are you trying to get us killed?!" she hisses, her short temper flaring. Luke raises his palms in a surrender position, a slight chuckle accompanying the gesture. Clementine narrows her eyes further.

"Sorry, Clem." he says warmly, before going back to the tent. "Couldn't resist, it's a thrill disassembling this tent." Clementine rolls her eyes as her friend continues his disassembly.

"A thrill, huh?" Clementine asks, her voice cutting. Luke looks at her for a second, grinning.

"A full body high." he mutters, laughing under his breath. The young woman just sighs, before looking back out into the early morning forest. A thin mist trails along the floor in the more densely packed parts of the forest, and Clementine smiles at the picturesque sight. The clearing they're sitting in is a serene haven within what is usually a dangerous place.

As far as Clementine and Luke are concerned, forests are death traps. They're usually packed with walkers, whether they be survivors who succumbed to the undead or those who died during the early days while out camping. Either way, the two travellers rarely find it safe to "go camping", as it were. But now that they were in rural South Carolina, it is becoming a frequent occurrence.

Up in Chicago, the two would find a place to sleep in the abandoned homes, hotels and apartment buildings that absolutely littered the place. Proper shelter in the form of walls, and beds to sleep on. Clementine would be lying if she were to say she didn't miss those "luxuries". A bed which wasn't damp like her flimsy sleeping bag. Or walls which couldn't be torn through by the ever hungry hordes of walkers, a stark contrast to the camping tent the two friends used. While it is undeniably great at protecting them from the elements, it would have no chance against a walker trying to get in. Thankfully, that day hasn't come yet. But Clementine is always paranoid of a walker breaking into the tent in the dead of night, and ripping their throats open with their jagged teeth.

She shakes her head, removing the jarring images of the walkers tearing her and Luke apart from her head. She looks across at Luke, who has finally finished collapsing the tent. He bundles the tent into his bag, looking delighted.

"Proud of yourself?" Clementine asks, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Very." he says, grinning. "Right, let's get to the hospital." Clementine nods, and the two tread in the direction of the hospital. Clementine throws a worried glance behind her, thinking she heard movement behind her. She doesn't stop moving, however, and chalks it up to her and Luke displacing some rocks or something. That doesn't soothe her much, however, and she quickens her pace. Luke notices the young woman walking quickly, and steps next to her. He doesn't quiz her on why she seems so nervous, and the two walk in silence.

* * *

Ever since she was little, Clementine has always found hospitals discomforting. Even though her mom was a doctor, and her dad would take little Clementine to visit her, she detests those buildings dedicated to the preservation of human lives. It wasn't the nurses, they were always nice to her when she would sit on her mom's lap in the doctors office and talk about school. It wasn't the patients, because she never saw them in the hospital. Her dad would always chivvy her past them, so she would never see or hear anything from those who were forced into the hospital to have a chance at living. There was just something about them that set her on edge.

Nowadays, hospitals were often quite dangerous. The morgues, already packed with dead bodies, were now practically nests for the hideous monsters. And of course, those who had shown up to the hospitals with bite wounds during the first days of the plague only added to their ranks. She can't imagine the fear that must have emanated through the hospital halls as the dead bodies became feral beasts, tearing into the living with ruthless abandon.

The nineteen year old sighs, looking at the entrance to the hospital with a glum look on her face. Her golden eyes go along the name of the hospital, her lips tracing out the words.

"Laurens County Memorial Hospital." she murmurs, before looking miserably at the grey building.

"You okay?" Luke asks quietly, looking at the hospital and then back at his younger companion.

"Yeah, just... Just remembering my mom." Clementine replies, bracing herself for what lies within those tall walls. "She used to be a doctor, I was thinking about it."

"You took after her in the brains department then, huh?" Luke says softly, smiling.

"My dad was an engineer, so they were both kinda smart." Clementine smiles at her friend, somewhat flattered. "But thanks, Luke." she draws her pistol, holding it firmly in her right hand.

"Not a problem, kid. You good to go in?" he asks, tilting his head towards the door. He holds his machete, looking a little nervous as he sizes up the building.

"Yeah, let's get this over with." Clementine sighs, resigning herself to the grim task that lays before her. Scavenging.

Scavenging is not a fun task for anyone. Really, you're just stealing from the dead. Not that it really hurt anyone directly. Long term, people would always end up getting hurt from others scavenging antics. Take some food one week, someone who needs it might end up starving the next because they couldn't find food. Take some medicine, someone might die of an infection. It's a vicious cycle, but a survivor can't stop scavenging. Not if they want to survive.

Clementine had formed this opinion a while ago, after stumbling upon the emaciated forms of two children walkers. Two boys, both with empty backpacks. She had found them in a department store while her and Luke were looking for supplies in West Virginia. She wasn't, and still isn't, sure that the empty backpacks were linked to the dead children. But it was a good enough bet. Clementine had just stood still and watched them for a while, thinking sadly of poor A.J. He hadn't come back. Luke had been forced to carry out the grim task of making sure he stayed dead. Clementine had eventually put the two children down, whispering an apology to the pair of them before pulling the trigger on them.

And then of course there was the man who had talked to her on the walkie talkie. The man who had his supplies taken from the back of his car. Lee had been firmly against the idea, alongside Clementine. That hadn't stopped the rest of the group from looting the car, though. And then everything went wrong. Because of scavenging.

" _Did you want to take my things, Clementine?" the man asks, his voice trembling slightly. He looks behind her in the car, where she's sitting in the back seat. The little girl looks up at him._

 _"Nuh-uh. Lee didn't either." the little girl says with a little shake of her head. She misses her hat a lot. Hopefully her dad won't be mad at her for losing it."Will we see my parents soon?"_

" _Soon, sweetie." he promises, looking back out on the road. "So why did Lee let them take the things?" he asks lowly, staring out the front window. The little girl notices his hands shaking as he grips the steering wheel, and hesitates before answering his question._

" _I don't know. He didn't want to, though. He was really upset with the others about it." Clementine says honestly, tilting her head at the man's questions._

After those incidents, Clementine started to hate scavenging. She knew it was a necessary evil, but that didn't make it easy for her. She only ever takes the bare minimum she'll need to make it. Never more, never less. That way, she slept a little easier knowing she left something for others who would need it along the way. Luke didn't always agree with this ethic, thinking that they should focus on themselves a little more than they do. But if Luke took more than they needed and his younger companion caught wind of it, Clementine would give him the silent treatment for up to days at a time for it. So he now just agrees with it, taking what they _need_ rather than what they would _like._ She sucks in her breath and treads through the door of the building. Instantly, she wishes they hadn't came.

Clementine feels her stomach twist as she takes in the horrific scene. A mangled corpse slumped over the front desk, bite marks all over. Blood lining the walls. Shattered glass is dug into the white floor, and bullet holes accompany the crimson colouring that is splattered liberally along the walls. She lets her breath out shakily, looking around the building slowly.

It looks like a massacre. She can't help but wonder if bandits did this, or maybe the police. Back when they were still a thing. She remembers hearing on the TV something about a "lock down", when she had gone downstairs to get a glass of water while Sandra was babysitting. Sandra had looked panic stricken, worry lining her face as she swore under her breath at the television. The pictures on the television had scared the little girl, who had darted upstairs before she saw too much.

"Christ..." Luke murmurs, running his fingers through his hair. He keeps a hold of his machete.

"This is horrible." Clementine mutters, breathing shallowly.

"You need a minute?" Luke asks, looking at her briefly. She shakes her head.

"No, I … Let's just get what we need and leave, okay?" Clementine replies gently, shaking slightly.

"Yeah, c'mon." he gestures to the blood drenched corridor, and Clementine nods.

They walk silently together, Clementine looking at everything with wide eyed fear. Luke pauses midway through the corridor, and the sound of walkers met their ears.

"Walkers." Clementine breathes. Luke nods, and the two duck into a doctors office.

"Shit." Luke mutters, listening intently as the living dead moan and groan.

"Do you think they know we're here?" the young woman whispers.

" _Do you think the dead people saw us?" Clementine squeaks, looking to Lee nervously._

 _"Try not to worry. Even if they did, they can't get in here." Lee tells her gently._

" _We did. Why can't they?" she doubts that Lee is being entirely honest. Though she has gone off him a bit since he confiscated her walkie talkie. He seems more upset with her, and that hurts._

" _We're a lot smarter then they are. They're just like dumb animals. They can't open doors." he smiles, gesturing to the gate. Clementine frowns._

 _Focus._ She shakes her head, looking over at Luke. His brown eyes are staring intently at the corridor through the window, before he crouches down and sits against the door.

"Nah, I don't think so." Luke says slowly, keeping his voice quiet. "But be ready to fight."

"Always am." she breathes back, looking at her friend.

Waiting for walkers to arrive is a terrifying thing. Having to stay stationary, holding your breath, praying to the heavens that they don't sniff you out. The rotten smell of their decaying bodies accompanying their every movement, making those unfortunate enough to be near them have their eyes water from both the repugnant smell and the fear gnawing at them.

Clementine looks over at her friend, and sees a look of fear on his face. Evidently, even at thirty-four, the walkers still got to him. Luke presses his back against the door, holding his machete firmly. The young woman trains her pistol at the window on the door. She's crouching behind a bloodied desk, not unlike the kind of desk her mother would have worked at before the plague struck. A walker slaps its hand against the window, and Clementine gasps audibly. The walker groans and drags its hand down the window, it's bloodied hand leaving a haunting mark on the battered glass. Luke curses quietly and twists away from the door, keeping low to the floor as he finds cover behind the sofa next to the rear facing window. The door rattles ominously, and the young woman sucks her breath in. She cradles the trigger of her pistol, her heart beating loudly in her chest. Her throat feels dry, the sick feeling of fear nesting in her stomach.

The walker staggers on, losing interest. Clementine lets out a weak chuckle, smiling to herself.

"That was close." she croaks to Luke. Luke nods slowly, looking relieved.

"Yeah." he stands slowly and slinks up to the door, putting his face up to the glass and looking around the corridor. He looks across at Clementine. "Looks clear. Move fast, okay?" she nods back.

"Where we headed?" she whispers across the room, moving from behind the desk. She crouches next to Luke, grimacing as her backpack digs into her shoulders.

"We'll nip to the next room there, you see it?" he murmurs. Clementine points towards the room she thinks the man is talking about, and looks across at him. Luke nods, and Clementine retracts the finger.

"Yeah, I see it. You go first." she says quietly. "I'll cover you, then if it's clear I'll run to you."

"Good plan. Keep an eye on me." he tells her, easing the door open. The door creaks, and the two young adults stay still for a moment. When it's clear nothing is coming, Luke eases out the door. Clementine crouches in the doorway, aiming down the hallway of the blood stained hospital.

"You're good." she whispers to the man, who nods.

"All right." he replies quickly, before jogging to the next room. He looks around hastily, his machete held high as he scans the room for walkers. The farm boy looks back to his friend.

"Is it safe?" Clementine asks quietly, standing slowly. She doesn't let her guard down, peering around the corridor. She expects at any moment for a walker to burst out and tear into her flesh, or maybe a dead body to flop out of a locker or something equally depraved or unsettling. No such thing occurs, and the woman creeps out into the corridor as Luke speaks up.

"Yeah, yeah, it's safe." the man says, looking somewhat relaxed, looking around. "Come over here, I could use your younger eyes." he beckons her over. Clementine just rolls her golden eyes, before following her friend into the room. She keeps her pistol in her hand as she walks, not trusting her surroundings one bit.

She steps into the room Luke is searching, and immediately she notices how much darker it is than the doctors office. There are no windows and, without electricity to power the lights, the room is in darkness. Clementine reaches into her bag and withdraws her torch, flicking it on with a push of her thumb. The cone of light sways around the room, and she points it at Luke.

"What am I looking at?" she asks, aiming the torch around the room. Luke points at the cabinets.

"There might be some painkillers in there. I'll take the side further from the door, you grab the ones there." he makes towards the back of the room, nudging a desk chair out of the way with his foot.

"Only what we need." Clementine states quietly. "I'm not helping if we're going to be greedy."

"Okay, Clem." Luke concedes, his voice soft. "Just enough for us to get by, like you say." The young woman nods, satisfied, before turning to the medicine cabinets. She sighs slowly, begging to the heavens that _something_ lies within for them. She raises the flash light over her shoulder, shining the light at the cabinet with her left hand. She swings the door open with her right, and she can't prevent the smile from crossing her lips at the sight of the small pill containers.

As she runs her eyes along the stash of medicine, she can't help but remember Crawford. She chews her lip and remembers vividly the old man, Vernon, and Christa walking back into the classroom. The little girl had had a peek inside the bag the two were excitedly talking about, and her little mind had been boggled by the long words that had been on the little bottles.

Clementine slings her bag onto the counter below the cabinet, before taking a few of the painkillers and stashing them in her pack. She quickly counts the medicine in her bag, muttering the numbers under her breath to help her keep track. Having only a first grade education made simple things like counting a little bit more of a hassle for the young woman.

" _Tell you what, when we're safe we'll set up a little classroom. Just you and me." Lee says, a warm smile on his face. Clementine smiles shyly back, before her features fall. She frowns, remembering one aspect of school she absolutely loathes._

" _Will there be homework?" she pouts, looking up at her guardian. Lee chuckles at that, smiling at the little girl with a genuine warmth. Clementine returns the smile._

" _No homework." he promises._

Clementine thinks of that promise a lot. She sighs, unable to stop herself from thinking how different things might have been if Lee had made it out of Savannah. If he had never been bitten. She shakes her head, dispelling the thought from her head. She has to focus, now. Later she can dwell on the past. When she's back at camp with Luke. But here, in a hospital that seems to be filled with the living dead, she has to maintain a high alert. Even as she does something as simple as collecting medicine, she can't let her guard down. Ever. The apocalypse demands constant attentiveness, or you'll end up joining the walkers on their endless march for more food.

A walker's moan interrupts her thoughts. Clementine gasps loudly and the flash light clatters to the floor. Luke looks over, horrified. The walker groans hungrily and lunges at the young woman, and she crashes into the floor from the force of it. She kicks at the living corpse, but the angle of her kick sends the flash light rolling around the small room they're in. The light flickers eerily, illuminating the walkers blood stained face. It's eyes look almost yellow in the torches faded light. From it's blood stained clothes, it looks like it had been a doctor before he had joined the ranks of the undead. A bite mark is clearly embedded into his neck. It shines red against the walkers greying skin. Clementine digs her nails into the walkers face and pushes, hard. She hears loud footsteps from her friend, and looks over to him in fear.

"Clem, move!" Luke bellows. The young woman's eyes flit back to the walker, which is desperately trying to bite into her neck. Clementine kicks the walker with all her might in the stomach. It flops backwards, and she scuttles away from it wildly. The walker crashes into the floor, landing on its back. Clementine's feet and hands claw at the ground she tries to escape the horrific creature. Luke slams the machete down, just missing the walkers neck. The blade sticks in the walkers chest, and Luke swears in horror. He yanks his hand away, scared to get bitten by the walker. He stumbles backwards, checking the doorway behind him.

"Shit!" Clementine cries out, grabbing the desk chair Luke had moved by the chair base. As the walker rears, she shoves the chair towards it. It clatters into the walker and the monster growls, slamming down into the floor yet again. Clementine lunges at the walker, pinning it to the floor with her knee by its chest. Clementine wrenches the machete out and, with a loud battle cry, she slams the blade down into the walkers rotting head.

" _Here!" she squeaks to Lee, the nice man on the walkie, who looks over at her with wide eyes. He plucks the hammer out of her hands, and swings with all his might at the monster version of Sandra. The monster is flung to one side by the force of the blow, and the man pins it with his foot. He lets out a scream of horror and exertion as he slams the hammer into the things head, over and over. After hitting the creature four times, he hesitates. The monster is completely still. He breathes out shakily, tossing the hammer to one side, trembling from head to foot._

" _Man." he croaks, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Hi there." he says lowly, his eyes flicking to Clementine for a half moment before looking back at his bloodied clothes. His eyes widen, and he looks back at Clementine._

" _Did you kill it?" she asks, somewhat accusingly. Lee looks saddened by that, looking back at the monster. He stares at the mutilated remains of Clementine's babysitter._

" _I don't know. I think so." he says quietly with a little shrug, running a hand through his hair._

 _"Sometimes they come back." she whispers, fearful. Lee sighs quietly._

" _Have … Have you killed one?" he asks slowly, regarding her worriedly._

" _No." the little girl shakes her head slightly, and the man lets out a sigh of relief. "But they get shot a lot." Lee winces at that, looking out the back window of the house._

Clementine is suddenly aware she's covered in walker blood. She looks over at Luke. He's looking at her, his face lined with concern. Her eyes dart up above her, where her hands are still clutching the handle of the machete. She breathes out slowly and lowers the bladed weapon, holding it limply in her right hand. She looks back at the walker, and her stomach flips.

Slash marks are all down the walkers face, and the top of the skull is split in half. The walkers eyes bulge out of what's left of its head, making it look alarmed in it's second death. Brains are spilled out onto the floor, and the sticky blood clings to everything in the room. The wall, the cabinets, the glass on the door, her jacket. Clementine breathes out slowly and lets go of the machete. She breathes out slowly, her heart in her mouth, wiping the blood from her face.

"You okay, kid?" Luke asks slowly, not getting too close in case she turns hostile again. The woman nods slowly, breathing in and out deeply.

"Y – Yeah, sorry. I just... I spaced out, for a second." she mumbles, nudging the weapon towards her friend. Luke scoops it up with his right hand, but doesn't make to move away.

"Okay." Luke says slowly, reaching for Clementine's flash light. "You dropped this."

"Thanks." Clementine says shortly, taking the torch out of the man's hands. She stands quickly, tearing her gaze from her graphic killing of the rotting walker. She gives the room a once over, before looking back at Luke. "We get what we need?" she asks quietly.

"Not enough to last past Savannah." Luke says solemnly. "Maybe we should come back some other time, this place is -" Clementine's eyes widen at the thought, and she looks at her friend, horrified.

"No!" Clementine interrupts quickly, her voice hoarse. "No, I don't want to come back here."

"Okay, well..." Luke runs his eyes up and down his friend, looking worried. "You need a minute?"

"No, really Luke, I'm fine." Clementine does her best to smile, and he hesitantly returns it. "Let's just get what we need and leave this place, it gives me the creeps."

"Right there with ya, Clem." Luke says, his playful demeanour returning. "You get much?"

"No, not really. Six bottles, all of them at best half full, that's it." her shoulders fall as she says it, knowing that this means they'll have to push deeper into the hospital.

"Better than nothin', I guess." the man muses, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Clementine doesn't respond, following Luke out of the dark room. She keeps her pistol in her hands as she walks, looking over her shoulder frequently to check for walkers.

She rolls her shoulders tiredly, feeling pain flare in her left shoulder from where she slammed into the floor in the fight with the walker. She winces and touches the aching spot, hissing in her breath as her fingers graze the potential bruise.

"Ouch." she whispers, prodding it gently again. She sighs, aggravated.

"You all right?" Luke asks, glancing over his shoulder at her as the young woman hisses her breath in. She nods, treading up the stairwell next to him.

"Just hurt my shoulder back there." Clementine replies with a shrug. She grimaces at the action, mentally berating herself. "I'm good."

"I'm not surprised you hurt your shoulder, you fell on it hard back there. Need some -" he reaches for some medicine in his bag, and Clementine immediately raises her palm. The two tread up to the next floor and Luke opens the door. After Clementine has checked that the corridor itself looks clear, she answers his question.

"No, I don't." she says briefly, moving her hand from her aching shoulder to prove her point. Luke raises an eyebrow pointedly at her stubbornness but otherwise doesn't react.

"All right, let me know if you do. It's what they're for." he tells her. Clementine nods, before pausing. She tilts her head slightly and narrows her golden eyes, before widening them.

"Shit, I hear something." she whispers, looking over her shoulder. Luke goes still and listens too.

"More walkers? Shit!" Luke swears as the first stumbles around the corner. Clementine raises her pistol and sucks her breath in, aiming carefully. As two more stagger around the corner, Clementine fires her gun. The gunshot sounds like crashing thunder rolling through the corridor. The lead walker collapses as the bullet slams into it's brain, falling in front of the other walkers. Clementine watches as the walkers following trip over the body, their limbs tangling together. More walkers are drawn to the sound, but fail to mantle the temporary barricade the walkers writhing bodies have formed. The young woman makes to run as more walkers close in, but stops when Luke is standing still. He stares, seemingly transfixed, at the walkers limping towards the two survivors. Clementine grabs Luke's shoulder and yanks, hard. Luke looks over, blinking. Clementine tugs on his shoulder again, worry coursing through her.

"Move, come on!" she shouts. Luke nods, seeming to find himself again. Clementine tears down the corridor, her footsteps sounding deafening. The walkers shriek and groan, picking themselves up and moving with haste towards their prey. Clementine flings herself along, pounding towards the door at the end of the corridor. Her heart is beating deafeningly loud in her ears, a sick feeling in her throat as she sprints. Luke is running right next to her, machete in hand. Clementine grabs the handle of the door and wrenches twice, hard. The door rattles.

"No! No, no no!" she cries, yanking the door handle as hard as she can. "Luke, it's locked!"

"What?!" Luke cries, looking at her. Clementine pulls again, shaking in fear.

"I said it's fucking locked!" she roars back, kicking the door angrily. She swears in fear as the walkers stagger closer. They close in, reaching forwards hungrily. Clementine stares, panic truly setting in as she notes just how many walkers there are.

"Let me try!" Luke urges. Clementine swaps place with him and shifts her gun into both her hands. Luke kicks the lock of the door, and his heart drops as he hears rattling on the other side. "It's chained shut!" Clementine doesn't respond immediately, firing her pistol down the corridor at the walkers. As the last of the initial onslaught is killed, she twists to face her friend.

"Well, what do we do?" she asks, looking behind her. Luke swears loudly, cracking his machete against the door. "Luke! What do we do?!" she repeats herself, her voice hurting.

"I'm thinking!" he snaps, kicking the door. Clementine glowers at him as she pulls out the empty magazine of her pistol, reaching into her pocket and hastily slamming another in. She chambers the first round and takes a knee, firing as slowly and accurately as she dares.

"Think faster, then!" she yells at the top of her voice. Luke twists to face the door, thinking hard. He kicks it again, swearing to himself as the door stays firm. He turns to look at the corridor, considering running at the walkers head on, when he spots a window half way down the corridor.

His shoulders sag as he realises it's their best shot.

"Fuck it." he says, defeated. Clementine looks at him questioningly. Luke points at the window.

"Oh, give me a fucking break." she moans, killing the last of the walkers with two well placed shots. The two race next to each other, skidding to a halt next to the window. Walkers are getting closer, their hungry groans and moans heralding their approach.

"You out first, c'mon!" Luke urges, smashing the window with the hilt of his blade. Clementine covers her head and ducks slightly as the glass flies in every direction.

" _Watch out for broken glass." Lee's voice is hoarse as he talks to Clementine, looking up at her sadly from the radiator. Clementine swings the bat, and glass crashes all around her. She squeaks in fear and hunches her shoulders, but the sharp material misses her tiny form._

Clementine shakes her head and grips the top of the frame, hauling herself out. She twists on the spot, looking up. She spots a drainage pipe running just above her head and grabs on to it, testing it with her hand to see how firm it is. It holds steady, and the nineteen year old woman pulls herself up to the pipe. She clings to it, her knuckles turning white as she looks down to where Luke is.

"Luke, come on!" she shrieks. Luke clambers out the window, pulling himself out of harm's way just as a walker snatches for his foot. Clementine breathes out, looking up. Time is of the essence. The drainage pipe is firm enough to hold her weight, but she isn't sure it can hold two adults. So she moves quickly, grabbing for a window sill above the pipe. She holds it firmly, and hauls herself up with all her might. She lets out a sigh of relief as she see it's slightly open. Clementine clambers up and swings the window open, before flopping inside. She lands on her back and stares up at the ceiling for a moment. Luke climbs in next to her, and the two just lie there for a moment. After he catches his breath, Luke clears his throat. Clementine looks over at him.

"That was close." Luke states calmly, looking across at his younger friend. Clementine starts to laugh weakly, shutting her eyes as she appreciates how lucky the two are to be alive.

"Yeah, it was." she says quietly. She opens her eyes again, pushing herself to her feet. She hears the walkers groaning beneath her feet, and looks to Luke. "We need to be quiet."

 _"You need to be quiet." she whispers down her walkie talkie. She looks into the kitchen, and watches as the man backs away from the windows and retreats into the house._

" _Are you okay?" the man asks gently. Clementine nods before talking._

Clementine sighs as she remembers Lee. She lowers her gaze, touching the picture of Lee in her pocket. She shuts her eyes for a moment, wondering what Lee would tell her if he was here right now. Her lips tug to a smile as she remembers his last piece of advice.

" _Keep that hair short." Lee says weakly, with a slight smile on his face._

The young woman decides that's exactly what Lee would say, and smiles to herself. She runs her fingers through her short hair up to her hat, breathing slowly to keep herself calm.

"Lots of rooms." Luke mutters, looking up and down the corridor. Clementine nods in agreement.

"Probably a fair few supplies." she whispers back, smiling at Luke. He returns the gesture.

"Probably. Might be best to split up, so we can get outta here faster." Clementine hums at that, seemingly discontent. Luke looks at her, tilting his head.

"It might not be the best idea, Luke. We don't want to be too far from each other if there are any more walkers. We're really pushing our luck as it is." Clementine says quietly. Luke sighs.

"I don't like it either, Clem, but we really need to get some medicine. An' splitting up is the fastest way to do that." he chuckles at Clementine's sigh of frustration.

"It's impossible to argue with you." Clementine says, more to herself than anything.

"Right back atcha, kid." Luke laughs, before gesturing to the end of the corridor. An open double door reveals a large cafeteria. "I'll check there, you grab that old operating theatre."

"Okay, don't be long." Clementine says, a warning tone in her voice.

"All right, little miss bossy." Luke teases, tapping the brim of her hat. "I'll be fine."

"You better be, or I'll kick your ass." the young woman says, her tone light.

"I'll bear that one in mind." the farm boy mutters with a warm smile, before walking towards the cafe. Clementine sighs, not liking the idea of splitting up, before darting into the old operating theatre. She reaches for her flash light and turns it on, swinging the beam all over the room. Clementine breathes in at the blood splattering the table and the wall. Surgical tools are lined up neatly next to the table itself, and the young woman finds her stomach flipping at the sight of the pointed instruments. She picks one up, a scalpel, and she feels a little nauseous at the idea of a doctor cutting someone open with it _before_ people getting ripped apart was a regular – if horrific – occurrence.

Putting the sharp object back where she found it, Clementine goes about looking around the fairly small room. She looks inside the various cabinets, but they turn up empty. She sighs, disappointed, and shines her light towards the operating table again. The blood shines in the yellow light, and Clementine swallows. She can't tell if it's old or recent, but frankly she's not sure she wants to know. She sighs, turning away from the table again and looking in a cabinet underneath a sink. She peers inside, muttering under her breath.

"Nothing. I _hate_ scavengers." Clementine mutters to herself. She hears a loud _click_ , and her body freezes. She turns her head very slowly, and sees a man standing in the doorway. He's pointing a pump action shotgun at her. Clementine blinks, making eye contact with him. His face is obscured by a ski mask, and the only thing the young woman can make out is his grey eyes. The man is wearing a matching grey hoodie, with a bandolier filled with ammunition draped over his baggy hoodie. Clementine breathes slowly, trying to keep calm. An increasingly difficult task as she takes in his appearance, realising with a sinking heart that he's a bandit.

"Get the fuck up." he orders her coldly. Clementine stands up calmly, raising her hands.

 _Please don't be stupid, Luke._ She thinks to herself over and over, begging mentally that he stays out of harm's way.

* * *

The cold steel of the shotgun barrel makes Clementine shudder as she's lead along by the bandit looking figure. The man has a firm hand on her jacket collar, leading her through the upper levels of the hospital. Clementine swallows down her fear, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Stop." he commands her, giving her a shake as she faces a large door. Clementine stops, keeping her hands at shoulder height. "If you run, I'll fucking kill you." he warns her angrily.

"I won't." she says softly, looking down at the floor.

"Shut the fuck up!" he snaps, gesticulating with the gun. Clementine can't help but flinch. The bandit lets go of her jacket and stalks up to the door. He pounds on the door with a closed fist. Clementine listens as the door unlocks, and another bandit appears in the doorway. "I got one."

"No shit." the second bandit drawls. Clementine looks up, noticing the second bandit isn't wearing any form of mask. Instead, he has a cap tugged over his eyes. She shudders as she notices the man's shit-eating grin. His denim jacket is unbuttoned, revealing a greenish grey hoodie. The second man rubs his stubble-ridden chin, running his eyes up and down the nineteen year old. His eyes are bloodshot, with small pupils. A horrible burning smell comes off him, making the young woman's nose crinkle as she runs her eyes up and down him as quickly as possible. He looks... Wrong. Clementine looks up at the man.

"What's your name, kiddie?" he asks with a sick grin. Clementine glowers at him. The man's grin fades, and he advances on her. She notices a pistol held firmly in his right hand. "I asked you a fuckin' question. You ever learn manners?" he spits.

"Clementine." she says stiffly, maintaining as neutral a face as she can. The man smiles, looking satisfied that she's playing along with what he's doing.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" he asks. Clementine doesn't respond, her heart pounding. The man sighs, looking pissed off. "You gonna ask my name, or what?"

"Do I get a choice?" Clementine asks sarcastically, narrowing her eyes.

"D'you want to live?" he shoots back, twirling his pistol on his finger. Clementine sighs.

"What's your name?" she asks quietly, her head bowed to avoid looking at the intimidating man.

"Nate." he replies shortly, crossing his arms. Clementine looks at him, and he grins widely. Clementine swallows again, scared beyond belief.

"C'mon, this is bullshit!" the bandit with the shotgun snaps, gesturing to Clementine. "Let's just kill this stupid cu-" Nate swings up his pistol and shoots the bandit, right in the forehead. Clementine gasps, jumping backwards in shock as the ski mask wearing bandit crumples. Her chest rises and falls rapidly as she takes quick, gasping breaths.

"I _really_ hate that word." Nate says shortly, leaning against the door frame on his right shoulder. He aims his pistol at Clementine, who looks up at the man with wide eyes. "You're not off the hook, though. Get the fuck inside, I'm not fuckin' around." he gestures firmly with the pistol, and Clementine sighs. She raises her hands again and follows Nate into the room.

Clementine can't help but whimper as the clearly dangerous man grabs her by the scruff of her jacket and jams the gun against her neck. She looks at the muzzle of the pistol, her eyes widening in fear. She counts to ten in her head, trying to keep herself as calm as possible.

"You don't have to do this." Clementine appeals to the man quietly, looking at him. The man narrows his eyes, a scowl on his face. "I haven't done anything to you."

"No one has to do anything nowadays." he muses, shoving the gun under her chin. "Doesn't mean I'm not gonna. Now shut your fuckin' mouth, and keep walking." Clementine decides to heed that advice, and walks as calmly as possible through to large open-ended room. Other bandits look over and wolf whistle at her. Clementine holds her breath, unable to repress the shudder that runs down her spine at the realisation that there are lots of bandits inside. The young woman counts four men inside, and her heart sinks like a stone in her chest. Four, five including Nate. That's more than she can take in a fist fight. She's outnumbered, out gunned, and alone. Clementine sighs weakly, looking around the room.

The room, she realises, would have been a staff room before the plague. Comfy chairs are all around, and a large window goes along the south side of the wall. The window gives a far reaching view of a large forest. Clementine recognises it as the very same forest her and Luke had camped at that very morning, before they had the idea to come to this hospital. A television is mounted against one of the walls, where the many doctors and nurses would have found out about the plague during the early days as the many first victims arrived. A kitchen in the corner, with a microwave and fridge. Clementine remembers with the faintest of smiles that her mom would sometimes eat lunch with a younger Clementine in a room just like that at the hospital she worked at.

"Sit down." Nate snaps, breaking Clementine out of her reverie. Nate cracks her in the back of her knees, and Clementine gasps in pain. She cracks onto the floor, landing hard on her knees. Her eyes water in pain, but she bites her tongue. Nate stands over her, aiming the gun at the back of her head. Clementine looks up at him with wide eyes, not saying anything.

"Where d'you find her?" one of the men asks, looking over at Nate from one of the sofa chairs near the mounted television.

"Matt brought her up, fuck knows where she came from." Nate shrugs, fiddling with his pistol.

"Where _is_ Matt?" another man pipes up, looking over from the window. In his hands he holds an assault rifle, looking similar to the kind Carver's people used when they attacked the ski lodge. Nate chews on that one for a few moments, before shrugging.

"Didn't like how he talked." he says airily, looking around the room.

"For fuck's sake, Nate!" the first guy shouts out, clearly annoyed. "You can't just keep fucking killing our own, it ain't how we do shit!" the man bangs his fist against the coffee table in front of him, looking possessed with rage.

"It's one less mouth to feed, ain't it?" Nate shouts back, his temper flaring.

"That ain't the point!" he roars, standing up. Clementine looks up, scared she's going to end up in the middle of a gang fight in a couple of seconds.

"Then what is the fuckin' point, Rowan?!" Nate bellows, moving his gun away from Clementine and striding up to the man he is arguing with. Clementine breathes out shakily and considers her options quickly in her head, her eyes darting about the room.

In the kitchen area, Clementine spots a crossbow leaning against the fridge. The bandit who must have been looking after it is currently walking over to the man called Rowan, siding with him in the argument about what happened to Matt. Clementine's eyes dart over to the kitchen counter, making a mental note of where she could take cover were she to jump for the crossbow.

Clementine looks over next to the desk in the corner, where there's a phone hooked to the wall. A computer is on top of the desk, and a revolver is leaning against the monitor. Clementine winces at the lack of cover, but she figures it's closer to run for the desk than to run to the kitchen. She can't help but smile as she watches the bandits stand in a circle, all shouting at one another. She's being completely ignored as they argue loudly, all swearing and waving their arms around. The young woman slowly drops her left hand and touches the back of her jeans. She lets out a gentle sigh as she feels the familiar outline of her handgun, realising if push comes to shove she can fire off her pistol as she runs for cover. She raises the left hand to shoulder height again, not wanting to get on the bandit's collective bad side.

As she makes to look around the staff room again, she hears a gun go off. One of the bandits has fired a round into the ceiling, whether to intimidate or accentuate a point Clementine wasn't sure. She swears under her breath, looking over at the bandits continuing their shouting match. Clementine sighs miserably as she remembers the bandits first raid on the motor inn, just two days after the Saint John's Dairy had been overrun by walkers. She remembers with lowered eyes the fear in her stomach as they hopped the fence, firing off guns at the adults of the group.

" _Shit, Kenny, get down!" Lee bellows, grabbing a rifle from the RV. Clementine squeaks in fear and jams her hands over her ears, whimpering at the loud gunshots and yelling of the bandits._

" _Oh, shit!" Carley cries out, firing off her pistol at a bandit who is sprinting towards the fence._

" _Clementine!" Lee calls out to her. The little girl looks up at him with wide eyes. "Go hide with Katjaa and Duck, okay sweet pea?" he urges._

" _I'm scared!" she wails, tears rolling down her cheeks._

" _You stupid fuck! Push around the left!" a bandit roars, firing off his assault rifle at the RV._

" _No no, you go left! I'll go right, for fuck's sake!" one screams back. Lee crouches down to the brave eight year old and pulls her into a hug. Clementine hugs him back, hard._

" _You'll be fine, Clem, I promise." he pulls away and crouches behind the RV._

" _Fuck you, mother FUCKER!" a bandit screams. Lee waits a moment before twisting out of cover and firing his hunting rifle at the bandit who is calling out to him. The bandit is firing off his weapons, a pistol in each hand. The man's eyes widen, and he cries out in pain as the rifle round pierces his chest. He crunches into the ground, blood spurting everywhere from the accurate shot. Clementine feels fear rise in her stomach when she sees the look in Lee's eyes as he crouches behind the RV again. An unholy rage burns within him, she can practically feel it. She backs up, and finds herself running towards the room Katjaa is in. She just hopes Lee will be okay._

The bandits she's met have always been clumsy, lacking in both co-ordination and efficiency. The Save-Lots bandits, as the motor inn group had called them, were by far the worst she has met. Though these bandits are giving them a run for their money in seeming brutality.

"You fucking idiot, Nate!" the man called Rowan roars.

"Fuck you, Rowan!" he snarls back, cracking his knuckles.

Clementine shakes her head, focussing again on trying to find a way out of this mess without killing someone. She breathes out quietly, thinking to herself about how she still has that little bit of innocence left. Without wanting it to happen, Clementine finds herself back at _that_ day. Lee's dying form is in front of her, his face lined with exhaustion and concentration as he talks to her one more time.

" _Shooting things... It changes you sweetie. I don't want you getting used to it." Lee whispers, looking up at her. Clementine sniffles, tears running down her cheeks as she looks into Lee's eyes. "It's like with Larry, honey. He was going one way or another but, in that moment, I couldn't do more violence." he shakes his head as he murmurs the words, his voice sounding painful and hoarse. "You have to be careful about that, or it'll consume you."_

Clementine smiles, proud of herself for remembering those words of wisdom. The smile fades, however, when she faces the grim reality that remembering her dead friend's words of advice weren't going to help her out of this situation. She's going to need to think of something, fast.

Her golden eyes dart back and forth between the kitchen and the desk, sizing up the distance between her and them. The kitchen is just a little further than the desk, and the ceramic work tops would offer much better cover than the wooden desk. Clementine chews her lip, deep in thought. She knows she's working against a time limit, the bandits can only argue for so long before they get bored and go back to shooting innocent people or stealing from young families. Clementine scowls towards the bandits, her eyes almost slits as she takes in their appearance. Her nose crinkles as she recognises the burning smell that is coming from Nate is coming off the other bandits, too. She does her best to ignore it, her eyes watering at the almost burning odour emanating from the middle-aged men. She shakes her head, focussing on her escape route. She looks towards a sofa near the doorway, thinking to herself that she can jump over it and use it for cover in between the two points for cover.

She looks towards the door Nate had lead her through. The young woman comes to the conclusion that, if she moves quickly, she might just be able to make it out the door before the bandits can stop her. _Get out, lose the bandits, find Luke._ Clementine nods to herself, satisfied the plan will work.

Clementine looks across to the bandits, all of them screaming and shouting to each other. She breathes out shakily, the fear in her stomach feeling like bile.

 _One..._

Clementine looks towards the doorway, taking deep breaths to stop herself from shaking.

 _Two..._

She raises herself slowly and steadily off her knees, moving so that she's sitting on her haunches.

 _Three!_

She draws her pistol and pushes herself to her feet, running flat out towards the door. This seems to get the bandits attention, and they twist as one to see their victim racing away.

"Hey!" Nate bellows, aiming his pistol at Clementine. She turns as she runs and fires wildly at the bandits with her handgun, forcing them into cover. She lets out a quiet moan of relief that nobody seems to be dead or hurt from the gunshots, and quickens her pace as she pounds through the door.

"God _fucking_ damnit!" one of them roars. "Get the fuck after her! Don't let her get away!" Clementine hears footsteps, and slams the door behind her. Spotting a wooden chair, she grabs it and shoves the chair under the handle. She twists on the spot and runs on, looking behind her at the rattling door.

"Stupid bitch barred the fuckin' door!" a bandit shouts in frustration. "The fuck do we do?"

"Just kick the fucking door down!" another snarls, kicking the door. The chair rattles but holds firm.

Clementine bursts out of the corridor Nate had lead her down, and almost trips over the dead body of the bandit who had apparently been called Matt. She looks down at his gun, and looks back at the corridor. She makes a snap decision and picks up the heavy weapon, snatching the bandit's bandolier as well. The young woman runs on, desperately trying to remember the way back to the cafeteria Luke was searching. She spots a floor plan and runs towards it, the shotgun trailing along the floor. She sees that she's on the seventh floor, with the cafeteria on the fifth. She runs to the stairwell and shifts the shotgun into both hands, ready to kill any walkers in the way. As she crashes onto the sixth floor, she hears very heavy footfalls above her. Loud cusses and slurs accompany their footsteps, and Clementine lets out a quiet whimper as she flings herself down the stairs. She flies down the steps, taking them three at a time. She crashes through the doorway leading to the stairwell, and spots the cafeteria in the distance.

"Luke!" she cries out, her voice riddled with fear. She runs, her lungs on fire, towards the open doors. She bursts into the cafeteria, plunged into darkness, and whips her head round while she tries to find her older friend.

"Clem?!" the man calls out, running over. "Where have you -?"

"Get her!" one of the bandits shouts at the top of his voice. Clementine looks over her shoulder and her heart sinks.

The five bandits have caught her up, and are rapidly closing in on her. Clementine raises the shotgun and pulls the trigger, watching as the bandits all scuttle for cover in the operating theatre where they had first found her.

"Over here!" Luke calls out to her, beckoning her over desperately towards an over turned table at the back of the room. Clementine runs over, vaulting over and landing next to her friend.

"Shit, Luke, there are five of them!" Clementine whispers, looking up at him.

"You've been gone way too long, where have you -" Luke looks at her with wide eyes.

"A guy found me and took me to a group of bandits. I ran for it while they were arguing." she whispers back.

"Shit, Clem, I'm so sorry -" the man looks horribly guilty.

"Don't be, we just need to get out of here." Clementine breathes, peeking over the table.

"Spread out, they can't be far!" one of the bandits call out. They tread into the cafeteria, and Clementine watches as the five men spread out, flash lights raised. The yellow beams go all around the room as they search for their victims. The nineteen year old looks to her older friend.

"What do we do?" she says, her voice quieter than a whisper. Luke looks at her shotgun.

"Give me that there." he murmurs. Clementine hands her friend the large weapon, and Luke takes it slowly in his hands. She swallows, watching as Luke prepares himself.

"What are you going to -" she stops talking as he stands out of cover, firing off the shotgun at the nearest bandit. The man lets out a strangled cry as the slug shell cracks into his neck, and Luke slips back into cover. The dead bandit's gun discharges as he slams into the ground. Luke swallows, holding his breath as he hears the bandit's panicked cries.

"Fuck, Steven's down!" Nate roars, swinging his pistol around. "For fuck's sake! Get the fuck out here, I'm not screwin' around kiddie!" he snarls, jumping on top of a table near the entrance.

"I'm gonna check the kitchen in the back." Rowan says loudly, aiming an assault rifle towards the large back room as he goes to check it out.

"God damn it, that's two people dead today!" a third bandit screams, swinging his crossbow around. "You kill another one of our own and I'll fucking rip your throat out!"

"Luke, we're outnumbered." Clementine whispers. Luke pumps a round into the shotgun oh-so slowly, careful to not make too loud a noise.

"We can take 'em, we just have to be smart." he says quietly back to his young friend, looking at her reassuringly. He smiles. "You trust me?"

" _Clem, look at me! You trust me, right?" Kenny asks quietly, standing up in the delivery truck._

" _I … I'm scared, Kenny." the eleven year old whispers, looking up at the man._

 _"That's okay. It's okay to be scared." the bearded man smiles at her. The eleven year old struggles to return it._

"I trust you." Clementine nods, swallowing. She feels butterflies in her stomach, but does her best to ignore them.

"Good, good..." Luke murmurs, peeking out of cover again. "Well, one of 'ems in the kitchen, and one's standing by the door. Other guy is over there, you see?" the young woman nods, and Luke hands Clementine the shotgun back. "I'm gonna go over there, to that table, so I can get an angle on that guy. I need you to distract him when I say, okay?"

"How? I can't shoot him -" she starts to panic. Luke shushes her.

"Just fire near him, make him jump. When he looks over, I can take the shot on him."

"Okay, I – I can try." Clementine whispers.

"Just do what you can." he smiles as calmly as he can at his friend.

"I will." she promises, shifting the two handed weapon in her grip.

"I know." Luke tells her, looking to the table. "When I say 'now', okay?"

"Okay." she breathes, preparing herself. Luke sneaks over to the second point of cover and holds his pistol in both hands. He breathes slowly, and Clementine watches him size up the bandit.

"NOW!" Luke shouts. Clementine stands out of cover and fires the shotgun at the wall next to the nearby bandit, who swears loudly in fear. As the man twists to face the young woman, Luke pops out of cover and fires two bullets from his pistol. The first hits the bandit in the chest. The second the head. Luke crouches again and Clementine mimics the action, pumping another round into the shotgun quickly, her heart pounding against her chest.

"Fuck this!" Nate yells, firing his gun at the table Clementine is hiding behind. The young woman gasps as the bullets pierce the table, and she covers her head with her hands. "No, God damn it!" the man cries, his gun making a soft _click_ sound. The young woman fires the shotgun towards him, making him fumble his pistol in surprise. Nate mutters something to himself as Clementine ducks back into cover. She frowns in confusion as she hears receding footsteps.

"Nate, get the fuck back here!" the man in the kitchen, Rowan, bellows. He kicks the doors open and starts firing his assault rifle towards the back of the room, swinging the firearm from left to right. He sprays the back of the room, bullets cracking into the wall.

"One left, Clem." Luke says to her, reloading his pistol hastily.

"Fuck you! FUCK YOU!" the bandit screams, striding forwards as he unloads the automatic weapon. The wooden table splinters and cracks from the vicious onslaught. The man starts reloading, yanking the bolt back on his rifle, and Clementine rushes at the man. Rowan smashes the stock against the young woman's gut. She doubles over, wheezing as she tries to catch her breath. The bandit cracks the weapon's stock against her arm, before kicking her to the floor. A searing pain flares in her arm, and she feels warm blood trickle down her from just below her shoulder. The bandit stalks towards her as he reloads his rifle. She whimpers as she kicks backwards, desperate to get back into cover and away from the bandit.

Luke vaults over his cover. He jumps over his young friend and runs at the bandit, who tosses his weapon to one side and withdraws a knife from his pocket. Luke swings at the man's face with a hard punch. The bandit ducks the blow and grabs the offending wrist, before swinging the knife in a wide arc. Luke gasps in shock and sucks his breath in, before gut punching the bandit with his left hand curled into a fist. Clementine watches the two fighting figures from her position on the floor, pressing a hand against her arm. The bandit grunts and knees Luke in the groin, and Luke doubles over in pain. As Luke doubles over, the man reaches forward and grabs the hilt of his machete. Luke gasps and shoves the bandit backwards, who yanks the machete free. Luke grabs the wrist of the hand holding the machete, pushing back desperately. The bandit laughs at the farm boys evident fear and locks his other hand around Luke's throat. Luke grabs at the hand locked around his throat, scratching and clawing desperately against it. Slowly, Rowan the bandit starts to push the machete towards Luke.

Clementine's eyes widen as she realises what's going to happen to her only friend. Unless she stops it.

The young woman draws her pistol and raises it slowly. She pushes herself up with her left hand and raises the gun with her right.

" _To aim, you look right down the top. See? Just through that notch." Lee says, crouching next to her and pointing at the end of the little girl's pistol._

She aims down the sight slowly, trembling from head to foot.

" _Line up the sight with your target." he places his hands on her shoulders, and she looks up at him._

Clementine whimpers as she aims at the bandit, staring in horror at the two struggling figures.

" _When you're ready to shoot, make sure you're not breathing too hard. And then hold your breath, right when you pull the trigger." he gives her a warm smile as he explains the piece of advice._

The young woman takes a deep breath. She jams her eyes shut and pulls the trigger. The gun cracks, and a sob escaping Clementine's lips as she hears the man crash to the floor. Luke lets out a loud gasp as he takes in fresh air, and he pushes the man's body away from him. Clementine stands up slowly, dropping the gun. She hugs herself tight, the pain in her arm forgotten as she stares at the man. Her eyes widen. Her world starts to crash around her. She's killed. She's a murderer. The word echoes eerily in her ears, and she feels her cheeks go damp. What makes her different from the bandits, now? The question floats in her mind, and she brings her hands to her face. She moans, whimpering and sniffling.

She didn't want to kill that person. She feels a flash of hatred towards herself, feeling angry that she had stooped so low as to kill the man. Guilt burrows it's way into her mind. She feels bad. It was something that needed to be done, but that doesn't make it right. It's not like he was some innocent survivor, far from it. Him and his friends were ruthless bandits, dangerous people. Murderers and thieves. Scum of the old and new world alike. But that doesn't make the idea that she killed someone any easier to handle for her. Clementine's stomach flips over as the face of the man she killed flashes before her in her head. She gasps, jamming her eyes shut while tries her best to calm herself down.

"You had to, you had to, you had to..." she breathes over and over, her chest rising and falling rapidly with each ragged gasp that leaves her lips. A horrible, utterly sickening feeling forms in her stomach. Feelings of hot and cold race through her body as the man's face appear in her head, searing itself in her mind. Sweat races down her forehead, joining the tears that trickle down her cheeks.

"Clem? You okay, kid?" Luke makes the young woman jump, and she looks at him as he massages his temples, a headache forming in between his eyes.

"I - I uhm..." her tongue struggles to make coherent words, and she stutters to a halt.

"It's okay..." the man says soothingly, a worried tone in his voice. Clementine shakes her head vehemently, gasping. "What's wrong?" he treads up to her, looking down at his friend.

"I … I … Luke... I killed him..." Clementine whispers.

"You feel really bad." he finishes, looking into his friends water filled eyes.

"I had to, right?" she asks quietly, her voice squeaky. "I didn't have a choice."

"If you didn't have to, you wouldn't have done it." Luke assures her softly. "You didn't have a choice." Clementine stands there, shaking and whimpering. "Clem? Are you - ?" he's cut off as his friend steps up to him and hugs him tight, crying into his shoulder. Luke hugs her close, patting her back gently. He doesn't say anything at first, just holds her close and lets her cry.

"I'm a murderer..." she whispers, clutching her friends coat.

"You didn't have a choice." Luke repeats himself, his voice gentle. "It's okay, Clem." he tells her, rubbing her back up and down. "It's okay. It's okay..."


	3. Chapter Three - Ghost Town

A/N :

Heya!

First of all - a HUGE thank you from the bottom of my heart for three hundred and nineteen views! For a guy who's not too confident in his writing ability, it's hugely humbling to see people taking such an interest in my work! I'm going to try to get this entire story finished before the end of September, as a way of giving back to you all.

So, this is the third chapter! You can expect a little more dialogue in this one than previous installments, but this won't be a norm of the series. Writing chapter three was a bit of a challenge for me, as I didn't have as firm a plan for it as I do for every other one!

Before we get into the story, I'm going to quickly address my solitary review:

TheDomdotCom: Hey again! Thanks for the review, I'm really happy that's the effect the chapter gave off. I wanted to allude to the idea that, even after ten years, Clementine isn't comfortable in the world she's in. I'm really happy that she's turning out to be in-character, one of the many worries I have is that I might write Clementine out of character - without writing the ten years she's survived, it's very difficult to get the character how I'd like her. Very well spotted with Nate! I tried to be vague, because Clementine wouldn't know him, but yes that was him! I wanted to have a familiar face as an antagonist, but with the stranger and Carver dead I was struggling for ideas. The idea of Nate came to me as I was replaying 400 days, and I think I wrote him pretty convincingly - though again, he is a difficult character to write owing to how off the wall he is. I'm glad you enjoyed the shooting scene, it was a bit of a gut punch to put poor Clem through it, but I think it'll add to the character in the future. Thanks again for leaving such a nice review, and also for favouriting! It feels fantastic! Hopefully you enjoy this next installment in the series, it's a little less hectic than the last chapter.

Right, that's that! Please feel free to leave a review, and I hope you all enjoy!

Edit : 22:51 GMT, 29/08/2016

Gonna be honest, really wasn't too thrilled with this one when I read it through again. There are lots of little changes which I won't delve into for the sake of keeping the word count as low as possible, but I will be listing somewhat major ones here.

 _ **Act One : The Truck**_

\- Added a few words to show how much Luke cares about Clem, harkening back to the cabin in the woods:

 _Even if he is a little bit over protective at times, she knows at the end of the day that Luke has her best interests at heart. Eight years ago, when they had first met, they had formed a special kind of friendship which is exceedingly difficult to break. The two had taken an immediate liking to each other, that was readily obvious to everyone around them. Despite her being near enough to a stranger, however, Luke had immediately helped the little girl feel as welcome as she could be in this cruel and uncaring world._

\- Added a few lines of dialogue reassuring Clem about her murdering Rowan as I felt Clem relented too quickly:

 _"If you hadn't done it, I'd be dead. That's just a truth, Clem."_

 _"I know, but that guy is dead." she chews her lip, conflicted on what to feel._

 _"Yeah, he is." the farm boy deliberates as he thinks. "But killin' ain't always wrong. You didn't want to kill him, right?"_

 _"No." she looks at him with wide eyes. "I really didn't."_

 _"Far as I'm concerned you did the right thing, then."_

 _"The right thing sucks." the nineteen year old mutters, looking at the dirty floor mat._

 _"That ain't even the half of it." Luke mutters to himself, thinking. "It's not always easy, doing right by people you care about."_

\- Added some words to the flashback with Kenny, so that it's more coherent while still reminiscing about Lee.

 _"I wish I could change it, Clem. I really do."  
_

 _"Me, too." she says quietly, looking at her trainers. The bearded man watches the little girl for a few moments._

 _"Still. Maybe he's in a better place now."  
_

 _"Maybe." she chews her lip, not convinced._

 _"D'you want to ask anything else, sweetie?" Clementine deliberates, thinking hard about the answer._

 _ **Act Two : McCormick**_

\- I wasn't happy with how quickly Luke relented about sharing supplies with the two survivors, so I made him a little harder to convince:

 _"We really don't have enough to go givin' out stuff to everyone, and -"_

 _"Please? What if it were us?" she begs quietly. Luke sighs._

 _"It could be us, if we keep givin' stuff out." he tells her quietly, a slightly warning tone in his voice. Clementine glowers, thinking hard for a few moments on a counter to that. "It's not that I want 'em to die, Clem, really. But we have to look out for ourselves, and I really don't think it's a great idea that we -"_

 _"Please, Luke." she tries again, her eyes wide. "I feel really bad, for them." Luke runs his eyes up and down his friend for a few moments, running a hand down his face as he weighs up the two options. He looks up to the sky and thinks long and hard for a long few seconds, before making up his mind._

 _ **Act Three : Finding Fuel**_

\- Again, I wasn't happy with something Luke said (I really missed the mark with trying to make him seem caring...). Made it so he actually asked about whether Clem needed to vent about past events, as I feel that's what he would do.

 _"Need to talk?"_

 _"No."_

 _"All right. Y'know where I am."_

\- BHBrowne

* * *

Thunder crashes in the distance as the truck drives along. Clementine stares out of the window, not talking. Her elbow is propped against the window, her chin resting in her hand. Luke drums his fingers against the driving wheel, looking across at his young friend.

"Clem? You okay?" the farm boy asks. Clementine sits in silence, thinking miserably to herself. The rain trickles down the window, but the relaxing sounds do nothing to soothe the poor woman. She sighs and shifts her arm slightly, still staring out the window.

"C'mon, talk to me." Luke tries again, worry bubbling away in his stomach. Clementine sighs deeply, closing her eyes. Rowan's face is burned in her mind. Since they left the hospital and found the truck in the parking lot, the nineteen year old hasn't spoken a word. Luke had been quietly delighted when the keys in Rowan's pocket fitted the battered pick up truck. Clementine had merely shrugged, having lost interest in almost everything.

"How's your arm? Stitches holding okay?" Luke tries a different tactic, looking at Clementine's left arm. She doesn't say anything, the misery she's feeling evident on her face. "Clem?"

"Fine." she mutters, her eyes flitting down to her lap.

"Want to talk?" her friend asks, smiling at her. Clementine realises what he's doing and goes quiet. She doesn't want to talk about what happened in the hospital. The nineteen year old finds herself reflecting on the world she lives in, and the idea that she's joined the droves of murderers.

The young woman isn't a stranger to murder in the post apocalyptic world. The bandit's raiding the motor inn, what happened to poor Carley, the strange man who had kidnapped her, Carver. The list goes on and on. However, she had been a stranger to being a murderess. That is, until three days ago.

She shuts her eyes and thinks of what Lee would say, if he could talk to her about what happened.

" _This is NOT how the world works!" Lee roars, furious. Danny stares up at him, the pitchfork buried in the hay next to him. Blood is trickling down his leg from the bear trap. "You won't make me kill you!" Lee's face looks alive with fury. He doubles over, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Clementine peeks up from under her cap, standing next to Lilly._

Clementine opens her eyes as she feels tears trickling down her cheeks. Lee had every right to kill Danny, there and then. Mark had his legs cut off by the two brothers and, by locking them in the meat locker, Larry had ended up dying indirectly from their actions. And yet, even though he could have killed Danny and been done with it, he had turned his back on him. He had taken the high ground, and walked away.

And then there was Andy, the elder Saint John brother. Lee had been livid with him, beating him with his bare hands over and over. Clementine had hugged herself in the crashing storm, watching in horror as Lee completely lost his temper.

 _Clementine squeaks again as Lee shouts in rage, slamming his fist into the farmers mouth. The eight year old looks up as Carley walks towards Lee, cursing weakly as the man crashes his fist into Andy yet again._

" _Lee!" the reporter yells over the howling storm. "Stop!" Lee twists on the spot, his right hand curled into a fist. "He's had enough, just … Leave him." Clementine watches as her guardian stands slowly, breathing heavily. He scoops up the rifle Andy had been using and starts walking away._

" _That all you got Lee?!" Andy goads, laughing through his pain. Lee pauses, and turns to face Andy as he stands. "You … You ain't shit!"_

 _"It's OVER!" Lee cries, looking dismayed at the damage he's done to the farmer. His face is swelling horribly, and two black eyes make Andy look haunting. Blood trickles from his forehead from Lee's onslaught, and he seems to be missing some teeth._

" _Fuck you!" Andy screams back, coughing and wheezing. "As soon as Dan and momma get out here... You're ..." he spits out blood, standing fully. "You're ALL fucked!" Lee looks around angrily, his shoulders shaking in rage._

" _I said it's over! Walk away!" he gestures with the rifle furiously. Andy backs up, looking afraid of the ex-teacher. Lee turns on his heel and strides away._

" _Don't you DARE walk away from me, Lee!" Andy yells, pointing with a crooked finger towards him. Lee ignores him, walking back to his group with the rifle in his hands. Clementine squeaks, hiding behind Katjaa's legs as she sees Andy slump on his knees. "Get back here and finish this, LEE!" Andy yells the name with such an unholy rage that Lee finds himself stopping, turning slowly on the spot to watch the dairy farmer shake and cry. He closes his eyes, disgusted, and sighs. With a little shake of his head, he walks towards the group._

" _Lee!" Clementine says squeakily, delighted he's back. Lee drops to a knee and pulls the eight year old into a hug, which she gratefully accepts._

" _Get back here and fight me like a man, Lee!" Andy shrieks, but Lee ignores him. He stands up slowly, peering into the distance, looking for walkers._

 _"Let's go, before the walkers get here." he urges, taking Clementine's hand and leading his group out of the quickly flooding dairy._

" _Lee!" the man sobs, sounding utterly defeated. The sounds of walkers makes the little girl twist on the spot, watching as a walker version of Brenda lurches down the hill towards Andy._

Clementine feels slightly awestruck as she thinks of the self-restraint Lee had exhibited. Just like Danny, Lee could have shot Andy and avenged his fallen group members. And yet, Lee had just walked away. He had looked hollow, though. Guilty for beating the man up so much. But he hadn't killed anyone on the farm. He was a hero that day, in Clementine's mind.

Of course, Lee hardly had a halo above his head before he joined the undead. He had been a convicted murderer before the plague began, and that bothers the young woman for a reason she can't place any of her fingers on. She never understood the details when she was little, namely because Lee hadn't told her anything about it besides the very basics. He had gotten in a fight with a man, and the fight had gone bad and he'd killed him. When her and Luke first started travelling together, she used to look in newspaper stands for anything about it. However, the case had been resolved by the time the newspapers had stopped printing. The most she'd read about Lee was a statement from the university he used to work at, saying they were shocked the thirty seven year old could do such a thing. Clementine sighs, massaging her forehead with the tips of her right fingers. _Murderer. Killer._

The thing that hurts her the most is she has killed a human being. Someone who had friends once. A family, probably. Maybe even a girlfriend, or a wife, who he loved very much. And the nineteen year old had taken all of that away in a quick, painful moment. The idea of someone taking Luke away, just like that...

The first time Clementine had seen a friend get killed, it was when she nine. The group had pulled over in the RV. A walker had been hit, so Kenny had to pull it free. That, and there was the problem of the traitor. The idea of a traitor had boggled her little mind. She didn't want to believe that someone in the group was stealing. But the evidence was damning. A paper bag filled with medicine had been found by Lee just outside the wall, and Lilly was convinced it was either Carley or Ben. Lee had tried to talk the fall for it, but Lilly wasn't having it.

" _I think you're capable of being a real piece of shit, but I know you couldn't do it. Not with her in your life!" Lilly points at Clementine, who looks to Lee. Lee flashes her a reassuring smile, and the little girl smiles back. Lee turns his attention back to the argument, furrowing his brow._

After arguing for a little while, during which Lilly had threatened to kick Ben out the group, Carley had lost her temper with the grieving woman and let loose on her.

" _You think you're some tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you. But you're just a scared little girl! Get the fuck over it. Take a page from Lee's book and try helping somebody for once!"_

Lee's eyes had been wide as she said that. Clearly, he hadn't thought that was the best idea.

And he was right.

Just seconds later, Lilly had swung her gun up and shot Carley through the head.

 _The crack of a gunshot pierces the night, and everyone flinches. The little girl stares in horror as one of her friends dies right in front of her. Lee twists on the spot and sees Lilly pointing the gun at the spot Carley used to occupy. He grabs her by the wrists and slams her against the RV._

" _Drop it!" he snarls, shaking her right wrist. Lilly sighs miserably and drops the pistol, and Lee looks towards Carley. He shuts his eyes and sighs quietly._

The adults had been furious with Lilly. Lee and Kenny's anger had been palpable, the air around them crackling with their rage. Lee had taken some deep breaths. Little nine year old Clementine had looked up at him, wondering what he was going to do with Lilly.

" _Just get in, and we'll figure out what to do with you." Lee mutters, looking sickened._

" _This is a bad idea, Lee. She's a murderer for shit's sake!" Kenny snaps._

Clementine lets out a shaky breath as the horrible world rattles around in her mind. Murderer. A truly ugly word. Clementine had tried to ask Kenny about Lee being one, back at the ski lodge late at night. She had sat next to him on the sofa, where he was staying up to keep watch, and after a few minutes of silence the topic of Lee had come up.

 _"Did you hate him because he was a murderer?" she asks, tilting her head._

 _"No, Clem." the ex-fisherman says slowly, looking at the little girl._

 _"Oh." Clementine mumbles, confused. "But -"_

 _"I didn't hate him, Clem. We just... We didn't always see eye-to-eye." Kenny says evasively._

" _But you treated him like crap." the eleven year old mutters, glowering at the fire._

" _I_ _– I – I didn't mean to, it was..." he goes silent. "I wish I could change it, Clem. I really do."  
_

 _"Me, too." she says quietly, looking at her trainers. The bearded man watches the little girl for a few moments._

 _"Still. Maybe he's in a better place now."  
_

 _"Maybe." she chews her lip, not convinced._

 _"D'you want to ask anything else, sweetie?" Clementine deliberates, thinking hard about the answer._

" _Do you know why Lee killed that man?" Clementine looks up at the man._

" _He didn't say why. Just that it was in a fight. Jesus." Kenny rubs his face."Poor guy."_

" _Uh-huh." her eyes shimmer in the fire, and the fisherman pulls her into a hug._

Her eyes dart over to Luke, who's focussing on driving. She can't help but wonder how he keeps going. He's killed lots of bandits during their travels, and yet he can still put a smile on his face and tell her terrible jokes whenever she's feeling low. This new world had turned the formerly innocent farm boy into a murderer, yet he only seems to think of his younger friend's well being.

It haunts her, the idea of her being a murderer. She knows she didn't have a choice. Luke would have died if she hadn't done something. Clementine doesn't want to lose anyone else. Then again, no one really does. But Luke's special to her. The older brother she never realised she had wanted, but can no longer imagine life without. The young woman looks at her friend again, who flashes her a smile. Clementine looks down at her feet, then back at him, unable to smile.

"I'm here to talk if you want, Clem." Luke says, as if reading her mind. Clementine nods ever so slightly, but keeps her mouth closed. She looks around the disgusting looking truck, really taking in for the first time how horrible the interior is. The plastic dashboard is melted slightly, the seats falling apart. A can of beer is in the cup holder, but it looks empty. The upholstery has loose threads and dark stains all over it. Clementine decides she doesn't want to know what the stains are. Her nose crinkles as she, for the second time that week, notices a horrible burning smell. She recognises it as the same smell that was coming from the bandits at the hospital. It's not a pleasant one, to say the least. The young woman chews her lip, looking out the window at the crashing rain. She thanks the heavens that she's inside during the storm, rather than wandering through the woods with nothing but a jacket for warmth.

She misses the Georgia weather. The rain wasn't horrific, there. Not like Carolina, where every other day the heavens weep over them, a . In Georgia, it had been sunny yet not too warm. The winters had been horrific, though. The first winter she endured during the apocalypse, she had only been in her dress with a stripy sleeved under shirt. No comfy coat, no fluffy gloves, no stripy scarf. No throwing snowballs with – and sometimes at – her parents. Just shivering in a motor inn, sitting cross legged on the pavement, drawing pictures for Lee and her parents.

Clementine reaches into the back seat, careful not to stretch the stitched area of her arm too much, and retrieves her back pack from the mess in the back. The guns from the dead bandits litter the back – a somewhat grim solution to their formerly pressing ammo situation. Clementine's gaze lingers on her pistol, the gun she used to kill Rowan, for a second longer than the other weapons. Her low spirits return and, after resting the backpack between her legs, she goes back to leaning against the window.

The young woman had forgotten how comfortable a car was compared to a tent when it came to resting. It was certainly safer, in her mind. The thick metal of the car offers much better protection against walkers – though the glass leaves a lot to be desired – and the seats are definitely preferable to the feeling of wet grass underneath her scratchy sleeping bag. Clementine shuffles in her seat, getting herself a little more comfortable in the horrible looking pick up truck.

When she was little, she would have hated the idea of sleeping in a car. She didn't like long car journeys, especially the one from her house to Savannah the one time she went with her parents. The family car was small and stuffy, and her dad didn't like to let the hot air out by cracking a window. So the small family would sit in the small car and drive along boring road after boring road. While little Clementine would have preferred a long car ride to a long walk, she still strongly disliked both. Nowadays, though, she enjoys both compared to the alternatives they present. She'd rather be going on a long relaxing walk than running away from hordes of walkers. And a long drive sounds like a forgotten luxury compared to trudging through the cold forests.

Clementine sighs to herself and looks across at Luke again, who seems to be absorbed in thought as he drives. She watches him for a little while, a slight smile on her face as she thinks of all the adventures her and her friend have been through so the danger they have been in throughout their time travelling together, her friend had always been optimistic. He's saved her more times than she could count on both her hands, but then she's done the same for him.

"Luke?" Clementine speaks up, her voice quiet.

"Yeah, Clem?" Luke replies gently, looking across at her.

"I did the right thing, right?" she whispers, looking over at the farm boy. "I didn't want you to die, but..." she swallows. "I really wish I hadn't killed that man." Clementine bows her head.

"You saved my life." he tells her reassuringly. "If you hadn't done it, I'd be dead. That's just a truth, Clem."

"I know, but that guy _is_ dead." she chews her lip, conflicted on what to feel.

"Yeah, he is." the farm boy deliberates as he thinks. "But killin' ain't always wrong. You didn't want to kill him, right?"

"No." she looks at him with wide eyes. "I really didn't."

"Far as I'm concerned you did the right thing, then."

"The right thing sucks." the nineteen year old mutters, looking at the dirty floor mat.

"That ain't even the half of it." Luke mutters to himself, thinking. "It's not always easy, doing right by people you care about." Luke tells her quietly. Clementine shuts her eyes as she remembers the time all those years ago back on the RV, when Lee had told her something similar.

 _"I don't know if we did the right thing." Lee murmurs, deep in thought._

" _How can you tell?" the little girl tilts her head, looking up at him._

" _Well, it's not like math, Clem. Sometimes there just isn't a right answer." Lee explains softly, looking at Clementine with a gentle smile on his face._

" _I hate math." Clementine mumbles, pulling a confused face. Lee chuckles deeply, and the nine year old nuzzles up to her friend. Lee smiles down at her._

" _Hah, me too sweet pea." her guardian tells her, looking at the little girl with a warm smile that reaches his eyes."Yeah, but part of growing up is doing what's best for the people you care about. Even if, sometimes, that means hurting someone else." Clementine frowns, upset._

" _I don't want to hurt anyone." Lee looks pained as she says that, and looks down at the floor for a moment._

" _It's not that easy." he shakes his head slowly, pity on his face. The nine year old pauses._

"But I think you did, Clementine." Luke finishes. Clementine looks down at her trainers, silent again. "You don't have to talk." he assures her quietly, looking at his young friend. "I understand if you're upset, I'd be worried if you weren't. Not to say I'm not worried, but..." he stops talking and looks out on the road, looking a little awkward.

Clementine's always grateful to Luke for caring so much. Even if he is a little bit over protective at times, she knows at the end of the day that Luke has her best interests at heart. Eight years ago, when they had first met, they had formed a special kind of friendship which is exceedingly difficult to break. The two had taken an immediate liking to each other, that was readily obvious to everyone around them. Despite her being near enough to a stranger, however, Luke had immediately helped the little girl feel as welcome as she could be in this cruel and uncaring world.

" _So... Now that you're more or less by yourself, what's your plan?" he asks the little girl sitting opposite him, who kicks her trainers back and forth under the table._

" _I don't know." Clementine mumbles with a shrug of her little shoulders. "My friend Christa's out there, I think. But I don't think she'd want me to come looking for her." she chews her lip. "Could I stay here? Just for a little bit?" she looks nervously up at the man._

 _"I don't have a problem with it." Luke smiles warmly. The eleven year old smiles back._

" _Will the others mind?" she asks, tilting her head. Luke grins._

 _"If they do, they'll just have to deal with it." he chuckles. Clementine smiles widely, eating more of the food before her._

The nineteen year old remembers that conversation fondly, and finds herself smiling a little again. She reaches into her pocket and, after a few moments of rummaging, she pulls out the picture of Lee. Clementine looks at it sadly, feeling guilty as she wonders what Lee would think of her now.

" _You've killed lots of things now. It doesn't even matter." Clementine says as her friend cuts her hair. She hears Lee sigh deeply as he cuts, and for a few moments there is silence. She bites her lip, thinking she's said the wrong thing. Lee touches the sides of her head and moves it slightly so he can get at a different area, and then he speaks up._

" _Killing is wrong, no matter what, Clementine." he says quietly._

" _But you do it all the time, to protect us. To protect me." Clementine reasons, looking upwards._

" _That doesn't make it right." he murmurs. "You should always avoid killing, when you can."_

 _"I guess." she agrees, fidgeting slightly. "I'm sorry, Lee."_

 _"You don't need to be, sweet pea." Lee assures her softly, and the little girl smiles."Just remember what I said, okay?" he asks warmly, and she nods._

" _I will. I promise." Clementine says, determined._

Clementine sighs, looking down at the floor of the car.

"I'm sorry, Lee." she whispers under her breath, the picture of her old guardian in the corner of her eye. "I'm really sorry." she stops talking after that, staring at the photo for a little while. She feels a little reassured by the smile on his face, and stashes the photo back in her pocket for safe keeping. Thunder crashes again in the distance. Clementine sighs at the foreboding sound, hugging herself with her left arm subconsciously while still leaning on her right. The young woman feels her eyelids drooping, and shakes herself awake.

"Shit." Luke says lowly. Clementine looks over, a little curious.

"What?" she asks quietly, looking at the complicated looking gauges and dials that line the dashboard. A childlike frown forms on her face.

"Truck's nearly outta fuel, we're gonna have to stop soon." the farm boy scratches his chin, looking miserable at the prospect. Clementine's heart sinks, realising how safe she feels in the truck now that it's soon not going to be such a safe place to be in.

"We'll have to get out and look for more, won't we?" she asks, her voice quiet and soft.

"Yeah, but we'll wait for morning – it'd be suicide to go scavengin' in weather like this." he murmurs, looking out the window at the hurricane like weather. Rain ferociously lashes the windows, and for a brief moment there's a flash of lightning in the distance.

"Okay." Clementine mumbles, worried by the idea of bandits. Luke seems to realise this.

"Don't worry, Clem. Nothing bad will happen tomorrow, I promise." he says quietly, looking at the nineteen year old. She doesn't look convinced, but doesn't say anything. "I promise." he repeats himself, looking at her with his brown eyes. Clementine sighs sadly.

"You can't promise that." she points out, looking at him. Luke goes quiet, looking out the front window. "Can you?" the nineteen year old presses. The farm boy sighs.

"No, I can't. But I'll do my best to make sure nothing bad _does_ happen." he assures her, and Clementine finds herself a little reassured by the older man's promise. "Okay?" he smiles.

"Okay, Luke." Clementine mumbles, going back to staring out the window.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk?" Luke asks, his voice gentle as he looks at the young woman. She sighs, focussing on the outside world again.

"I'm sure." she answers, not looking at him. The farm boy looks at her sadly.

"I'm worried about you, kid." is all he says, before slowing the truck down. "I'm gonna pull over for the night, then scout the perimeter for walkers."

"Can I come with you?" Clementine asks. "I'd like the fresh air."

"That might be best." he tells her, reaching into the back and handing her the shotgun. Clementine flinches at the sight of the weapon. "Knife ain't gonna cut it in these conditions, Clem."

"You did that on purpose." Clementine grumbles as the truck comes to a stop, pumping a round into the shotgun. Luke pauses as he thinks about what she had said.

"Huh, didn't even realise that one." he laughs, holding the assault rifle in one hand.

"Sure." the nineteen year old mumbles, looking out the window. She narrows her eyes, trying to spot walkers in the woodland surrounding them.

"Right, let's be quick." he tells her. "We'll stick together, check the immediate area, and if it's safe we'll settle in for the night. Sound good?"

"As good as it gets." Clementine says, her voice a deadpan as she opens the door of the truck. The two bow their heads against the torrential downpour, the wind howling in their ears. The young woman's teeth chatter as the rain assaults her person. Clementine shudders, clutching onto the gun. Luke treads in front of Clementine and gestures to his footprints. Clementine nods her understanding, and follows her older companion. The young woman treads in his footsteps, avoiding the worst of the muddy ground. Luke frequently looks behind him at his young friend, who focusses on looking for walkers on their left and right. The tall trees sway viciously in the wind, and Clementine finds herself watching them anxiously in case one picks that time to fall.

The steel from the shotgun freezes her hands as it slicks with rain. She moans weakly and clutches the weapon in her numb fingers, desperate to get some feeling back in them. Luke looks behind him and gives a brief thumbs up to the young woman, who nods in the howling storm. Her teeth clatter loudly, and she moves as quickly as she can back to the truck. She thinks longingly of the comparatively warm interior of the truck, and doubles her pace. Her eyes are wide as she double checks her surroundings. It's important to keep her eyes open, now that her hearing is practically gone from the howling storm. A walker could sneak up on them at any moment, and she wouldn't even hear it coming. She whimpers in slight fear, quickening her pace further. Satisfied the two are safe, she grabs the door handle and fumbles the door open. Clementine sighs in relief and clambers inside. She groans, rubbing her palms together desperately. The young woman pulls her jacket off, dropping it in the back seat. She doesn't want to catch a cold, thus the removal of her jacket. So she just sits quietly in her T-shirt and jeans. She rubs her arms with her hands, careful not to aggravate the stitches on her left arm – the dog bite on her forearm and the weapon butt just below her shoulder.

" _Two stitches on the same arm, who would have thought it?" Luke asks warmly, trying to make his young friend smile. She sighs, kicking her feet slightly while she sits on the operating theatre table._

" _I guess." she mumbles, her eyes flitting back to the cafeteria._

" _You'd put Rambo to shame." the farm boy teases, indicating her two wounds._

 _"Who?" she asks impatiently in her miserable voice, looking at her friend._

" _Oh, right. Old movie, Clem." Luke explains with a smile. Clementine sighs._

" _Oh." she says miserably, looking at her trainers._

Clementine breathes out slowly, picking the loose threads of her shirt's sleeves, repressing another set of shivers. Goosebumps are all up and down her arms, and her face is drenched in the cold water. Luke bundles into the front seat and looks at his friend questioningly.

"You cold?" he asks, wriggling out of his coat.

" _I'm freezing." Clementine whispers to Christa, hugging her skinny form as a cold breeze rattles past._

" _You think this is bad? Wait 'till we get to Wellington. Then talk to me about cold." Christa says, her tone matching the temperature around them. "If we make it."_

"Just a little." she lies, looking at her friend. She holds herself close while she tries to get comfy in her seat, turning to face Luke. Luke smiles at her.

"You'll get warmer soon." he tells her, certain of himself. "It was colder up north, huh?"

"Yeah..." the young woman's voice trails off as she remembers poor A.J. "A.J loved the snow." she says quietly, a slight smile on her face.

" _Look Alvie, snow!" Clementine coos, bobbing the baby up and down in her arms. The baby giggles delightedly, reaching out with a chubby hand for a falling snowflake. She looks up at Luke from across the camp fire, who flashes her a brief smile._

" _You enjoying yourself?" he asks tiredly as he takes inventory over their supplies. Clementine smiles, nodding before looking back down at the baby. She pokes the baby's nose, and the baby grabs it with his thick fingers. Clementine smiles, hoping this moment will never end._

Luke smiles weakly as he watches his young friend reminisce.

"Yeah, he was a sucker for it." Luke agrees, pulling a sweater out of his backpack. Clementine looks at him enviously as he pulls it over his greying shirt. He seems to pick up on it, reaching back into his backpack. "Don't worry, got a spare one for you too." he grins, tossing her a grey one. Clementine smiles, grateful, and pulls the scratchy article of clothing over her head. She hugs herself under the sweater, her hands not coming out the ends of the sleeves. She hums to herself, grabbing the end of the sleeves and pulling them around her frozen hands.

"Thanks, Luke." she says, looking at him with her golden eyes.

"Not a problem, Clem." Luke tells her, picking at his green sweater. He pauses, looking at the grey sweater Clementine's wearing. "Dunno why I let you have the grey one, it's way cooler." Clementine hesitates for a second, before giving him a tired grin.

"Probably because I'm way cooler than you." Clementine says with a sleepy sigh, turning over. Luke bats her arm playfully. Clementine smiles to herself, a laugh escaping her lips.

"Glad to see you perked up again." he tells her, smiling warmly.

"You do the same for me." Clementine says gently, her eyes closed. "I'm just returning the favour."

"That's good of you to say." the farm boy looks humbled by her words. "But you didn't -"

"Shut up, Luke, I'm trying to sleep." the young woman says, twisting over again. Luke laughs.

"All right, then." he shuts his eyes and turns over. "We'll get up early tomorrow, get some fuel, and then get back out on the road."

Clementine doesn't say anything, quietly glad to not have to talk any more, sitting in silence as Luke finds comfort in the worn out seat. Forcing herself to be a little more cheerful for her friend's sake, it's draining for her. She thinks sadly of the bandit she killed three days ago, her stomach turning as his face appears in her mind. Clementine opens her eyes, looking around the dead bandit's truck. She feels a sick feeling in her stomach, and hugs herself tighter, bringing her knees to her chest, feeling like a child all over again. The bandit had forced her hand, but that doesn't calm her at all. She sniffles, tears spilling out of her eyes.

"I'm a murderer." she moans, her voice quiet. Her nightly mantra since the murder, after Luke goes to sleep. "I'm a murderer..." she repeats herself over and over, whimpering and shaking as she struggles to catch that ever elusive thing – sleep. She whimpers as the bandit's face appears in her mind again, and opens her eyes wide. She looks out the window of the truck, begging Lee and her parents mentally to not hate her for her crime. She closes her eyes, and in her minds eye she's back in the hospital after killing Rowan.

" _It's okay... You didn't have a choice, Clem. Okay?" Luke says to his sobbing friend, wincing as he sees the dead body. Clementine shakes her head._

" _I killed him." she whispers into his coat. Luke sighs, patting the back of her head._

" _It's okay, Clem. You're not a bad person. You're not." he tells her soothingly._

 _"I killed him." the nineteen year old repeats, sniffling._

She shuts her eyes, whimpering to herself. She can't help but feel so alone in this grief.

* * *

Clementine winces as she treads further along, backpack slung over her shoulders. She cradles the trigger of the shotgun, tense and ready to do what has to be done to survive. Luke looks over at his younger friend, holding the battered assault rifle in both hands. Clementine walks slowly, pushing the brim of her hat up so she can see a little better. Her still damp jacket almost shines in the morning sun. The rain that's clinging to her jacket glistens and shimmers, but she doesn't notice. She frowns into a shop window, standing on tip toes to look inside fully.

"See anything?" Luke asks, walking over next to her. Clementine shakes her head, turning from the shop window. "Damn. There's gotta be fuel somewhere." he mutters.

The two had pulled the car over in a forest near a small town, and that morning they had walked into the worn out town. As they had walked in they had been expecting to meet at least some survivors or walkers, but so far they've found no such thing. The town is a wreck. Every building is dilapidated, cracked and smashed windows lining them. In some of the larger buildings, there are even holes from what looks like bombs detonating. Clementine's eyes widen at the thought of the army bombing civilians. Her features fall further, however, when she considers it might have been bandits. She shakes her head, following her older friend through the cracked street. The nineteen year old sighs as she spots a burned out car, and she taps Luke shoulder.

"You okay?" he asks, smiling. Clementine indicates the car, and Luke's eyes widen. "Shit."

"Might be a working car in town, maybe." she mumbles. "Then again, maybe not."

"Don't be like that." Luke says quietly, looking across at his friend. Clementine sighs, looking around the street. "Clem?" he tries to get his friend to talk.

"Hm?" she hums. Everything about how she's acting, from her posture down to the tone of her voice, screams that she's depressed. Luke sighs quietly.

"Are you okay? You've been all over the place recently." Clementine opens her mouth to retaliate but Luke continues to talk in measured tones. "You seemed much better last night, but now it's like you've gone in on yourself again. It's not like you, Clem, and I'm worried." Luke scratches the back of his neck as he talks, looking awkward. Clementine blinks.

For Luke to talk that much in one go, he's clearly very worried about her. Clementine considers what to say for a few moments, scuffing her trainers slowly against the cracked road. Her lips tug downwards as she thinks of the right words to say. Luke looks at her worriedly, an eyebrow raised at her silence. He waits for her to say something, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

"I'm fine, Luke." she mumbles. "Just thinking."

"About that bandit in the hospital?" he asks, his voice reassuring. Clementine nods, looking at the burned out vehicle to her left.

"Rowan." she mumbles, fiddling with the shotgun in her hands.

"Hm?" Luke looks confused, raising his eyebrows at her.

"His name was Rowan, I heard the bandits..." she goes quiet and clears her throat. "I'll be fine."

"Clem, are you sure?" he asks, not looking satisfied by her hesitant assurance.

"I am. Thanks." she says hastily, looking away quickly. Clementine chews her lip, looking up the street. The street has puddles forming from the rain storm the night before, and she remembers with a frown the fun her and her mom would have jumping in puddles when she was little.

"Okay, then." the farm boy sounds sceptical, but relents on his line of questioning.

Clementine feels quietly grateful to her friend, and smiles at him genuinely. Luke smiles back, looking back down the street. The burned out car grabs Clementine's attention again, for some reason, and she walks up to it slowly. She crouches next to it, peering inside. A thrill of fear races up her spine, worried she's about to see the charred remains of a young family. She sighs, peeking into the back of the scorched car.

"Nothing." she says softly, standing up. She looks down at the shotgun, then back up at the street.

"Let's get movin'." Luke suggests, jerking his head northwards. Clementine nods, and falls into step next to him. Her jacket rustles in the wind, but she ignores the sound. She listens intently, expecting a group of walkers to shatter the relaxation she's feeling. Or maybe a bandit to jump down and start firing at them. She tenses at the thought of a bandit and looks around quickly, her breathing quick. Her eyes hastily scan the rooftops, then the alleys that frequent the street.

Nothing.

Clementine lets out a gentle sigh of relief, but can't bring herself to let her guard down even one bit. She remains tense as the two walk slowly together through the near abandoned town. Luke looks at her over his shoulder, smiling at his younger friend reassuringly. Clementine doesn't return it, too busy trying to check every direction at the same time for any form of danger.

A loud crash makes both travellers jump, and for a moment they both just stand there, aiming their weapons at the believed source. An old house to their right, the door smashed in, seems to be the origin of the racket. The two look to each other, and Luke thinks for a moment.

"Let's hustle." he says quickly, and the two break into a jog. Clementine follows Luke carefully as he moves quickly, darting through the streets. "Quick!" he urges, grabbing Clementine's wrist. He leads her along hastily, looking around quickly as he leads the nineteen year old through the streets. Clementine holds the shotgun in her right hand, holding it above street level to avoid scraping it against the bumpy tarmac.

"I think we're good, Luke." Clementine says, once they're a few streets clear. Luke nods, catching his breath quickly.

"Can never be too sure." he murmurs, looking around for anything that may be following them.

"Do you remember the way back to the truck?" the young woman asks quietly. Luke pauses.

"Uh... We'll figure it out." Luke flashes her an awkward grin. Clementine sighs.

"Damn it, Luke." she grumbles, looking around the town. There's a delicate pause.

"I'm sorry, Clem." the farm boy says, still smiling as he starts to walk. Clementine retreats to her thoughts, feeling pissed off at the whole situation. They're in a town they've never been to before, without much ammo for their guns, and they don't know the way back to their car. It's not looking good for the two survivors. Clementine doesn't say anything, looking down at her tattered trainers.

"Do you think there'll be fuel here?" Clementine asks, as optimistic as she can.

"Fingers crossed." he says with a warm smile, raising two crossed fingers as he says it. The young woman shifts her finger back onto the trigger, wondering if this is what the supply runs into Macon were like with Lee. She can't help but reflect that Lee had at least known his way around Macon, whereas her and Luke were lost in a town they didn't even know the name of.

Unlike Lee, however, Clementine was with her best friend in the whole world. And after the Saint Johns, no matter how hard Lee had tried, Kenny just never looked at him as a friend again. Clementine can't help but sorry for Lee as she reflects on the supply runs. Putting his life on the line every couple of days to keep the group feed and supplied. She can only imagine how unbearable it must've been once he and Kenny stopped being friends. Scavenging through abandoned towns, even with a loyal and good friend like Luke, is a horrible task.

" _Are you going now?" Clementine asks, looking up at Lee. He nods, determined._

" _Yeah, sweet pea. But try not to worry, I'll be back before you know it." Lee reassures her. He reaches into the RV and picks up Danny Saint John's old rifle._

" _Please be careful." the nearly nine year old girl whispers. Lee crouches in front of her, smiling._

" _Don't worry, I will." he pulls her into a hug, and Clementine hugs him back._

The little girl was always worried whenever Lee walked out those gates, half expecting him to never return. Even at eight she had understood how dangerous Macon was, ever since the apocalypse had begun. There were walkers all over the town, and the two supply runners would travel right to the heart of it. Lee's parents drug store was a death trap, the first of many safe zones Clementine had witnessed fall, but the various pieces of medicine and painkillers were too important to abandon over being careful within the town of the dead.

And of course, fuel for the boat had been worth risking the entire group. That and, yet again, medicine. The raid into Crawford was a scary time for the little girl, who had been desperate to go there to look for her parents. She shuts her eyes, trying to remember her pleading with him to go as well as she can. Standing up from her perch on the stairs, Lee looking up at her sadly after he had explained how dangerous Crawford would be.

" _I should probably go get ready." Clementine says, standing up from the steps._

" _Uh – Say what now?" Lee asks quickly, his eyes wide._

" _You said you'd need all of us to do this, and you said I'm a big help, remember?" Clementine says, smiling. Lee sighs deeply, looking at the floor. It looks like he regrets his words. "Molly said Crawford is the only place left in Savannah that still has people! That means it must be where my mom and dad are, right?"_

" _I don't think your parents will be in Crawford, Clem." Lee says gently._

 _"Why not?" Clementine raises her eyebrows, confused. Didn't Lee hear what Molly said?_

" _Because Crawford is a bad place, full of bad people. And your parents are good people." Lee says gently, a faint smile on his face._

" _How do you know they're good people? You haven't met them." Clementine pouts. Lee chuckles._

" _Well, they raised you didn't they?" Lee reasons, looking up at the little girl. Clementine smiles proudly at the praise for her parents. Her features fall, however. She really wants to go to Crawford._

" _Can't I come with you?" she begs, looking at Lee with her wide golden eyes. Lee sighs, looking down at the stairs for a few long seconds. He looks up at her and smiles faintly._

" _Okay, you can come. But you have to promise to stay quiet." he tells her firmly._

Why, oh why, had she begged to come? Clementine sighs. Crawford had scared the shit out of her. Walkers around every corner, the classroom turned into a military headquarters, the creepy dolls set up on the desks. Clementine shudders every time she thinks of the re-purposed classroom. The whole idea of it is just wrong, to her. A classroom was just that – a room to have a class at school. Not to have men with guns plan their master race by killing the sick, elderly and children. And definitely not to have guns just through another doorway, ready to shoot other survivors for their supplies.

Clementine grimaces, looking at a church tower in the middle of town. Luke looks over at her.

"What? Remembering Sunday mass?" he teases, jabbing her ribs. Clementine scowls, looking at her friend, unimpressed at the jibe.

"Didn't go, parent's weren't religious." she says listlessly. She looks back at the church tower, a sad look on her face. Luke scratches his neck.

"Why the frown?" Luke asks, crouching slightly so he's eye level with the nineteen year old.

"Thinking about Crawford." Clementine replies, staring at the top of the church tower.

Luke sighs as he remembers what Clementine had told her about the place. It was when they had been in the pen at Carver's camp, not long after Kenny had died. The eleven year old had confided in the farm boy all about the community, and his stomach had sunk into the ground at the thought of people like that living in the apocalypse. Although, from what the eleven year old had said, they certainly weren't living any more.

" _Lee and my old group went to this place to get some stuff for a boat, and medicine." Clementine mumbles, looking across at Luke. Luke shifts his position slightly, still sitting on the cold floor next to the eleven year old girl._

" _Nice place?" Luke asks, trying to be a little playful._

" _No." Clementine mumbles. "The people who lived there, they wanted to survive at any cost. Apparently they killed anyone who was too young, or too old, or sick."_

 _"Jesus!" the farm boy gasps, looking appalled. Clementine fiddles with a piece of chalk._

" _When we got there, though, there were just walkers everywhere. This one girl, Molly, who had joined our group for the day, seemed kind of glad. Lee just looked really sick, and he felt really bad for bringing me."_

 _"I can imagine." Luke murmurs, deep in thought. "Did they have what you guys needed?"_

 _"Yeah, they'd taken from the entire city and stripped every car from the streets." Clementine mumbles. "They didn't care about other people, only themselves."_

Luke looks across at his friend, thinking to himself that it's all starting to add up on his younger friend. The killing at the hospital being the straw that broke the camel's back. The farm boy looks down at the floor, thinking sadly about the way she had cried silently as they drove away from the hospital. He'd tried to talk to her, desperate for his young friend to feel better. However, his dumb jokes and reassuring words had fallen upon deaf ears. She's been through so much these last ten years, and Luke's worried she's going to snap. It's hard enough fighting to survive at thirty-four, let alone at nineteen. He sighs, before reaching into his pocket. He withdraws a folded map of the state of South Carolina, and sets about figuring out where they are.

Clementine stares up at the church for another couple of moments, saddened. She tilts her head as she thinks about Molly, wondering if she's still alive. She was tough, ten years ago, when they first met. But a lot can happen in ten years. Hell, a lot had happened the three months into the apocalypse they had met. The world she had begun to grow up in had been torn apart, and now she's struggling to survive in what remains in a world destroyed by both the living dead and the terrible people who roam among them. The young woman shakes her head, focussing on her immediate situation.

"You good?" Luke asks, watching as his friend looks at the floor. She shrugs.

"Sure, let's just..." she sighs. " Let's keep busy."

"Good idea, Clem." the farm boy agrees, gesturing to a side road. "If I'm right, and I think I am -"

"You always do." Clementine grumbles. Luke chuckles, shaking his head slightly.

"Anyway, that road should lead us back towards the truck. I think." he scratches his neck, pointing at a marked woodland. "That's the forest there, so if I'm right – and again, I think I am – the truck should be in Baker Creek." he points at the map delicately, and Clementine nods. "So we're probably here, McCormick." The young woman nods again, and Luke stashes the map away.

"Are there any gas stations here?" Clementine asks softly.

"Fingers crossed." Luke raises two crossed fingers again, and Clementine raises an eyebrow. "Let's head this way." Luke says, pointing past the church. The nineteen year old doesn't say anything, just starts walking. The farm boy falls into step next to her, smiling at his friend. She doesn't return the gesture, thinking about the dead bandit for the hundredth time today.

The murder weighs on her conscience. She finds herself replaying it in her head, over and over again. Raising the gun, levelling it at the man's head. Pulling the trigger as she jams her eyes shut. The startled look on the dead man's face in death. Clementine shudders, clutching the shotgun a little tighter in an attempt to remove the jarring images from her head. She looks to her farm boy friend, half wishing she could just ask him for a hug. But she's not a little girl. She's a young adult, now. She has to be strong, and focus on survival. It's just so wearing for the poor woman. Ever since she was eight, she's been forced to fight to stay among the living. And at nineteen, it's not any easier to stay alive. Especially now with a fresh burden on her shoulders, joining the ranks of murderers that live in the apocalypse.

Self-hatred doesn't begin to describe how Clementine feels about herself after that incident. She finds herself regarding herself as the lowest form of being. She knows, in the back of her mind, that she didn't have any choice. She had to kill that man. She didn't enjoy it. She did the right thing. But that doesn't change how she feels about it. It defies everything Lee and her parents had taught her, killing a man. Even if it _was_ to save her best friend's life, she still ended another person's life.

" _I don't know what to do about Jamie, mom." she mumbles. Clementine's mother sighs, smiling slightly as she combs the seven year old's hair. "He won't leave me alone."_

" _Just ignore him, sweetie. Violence is never the answer." her mother says softly. "Okay?"_

" _Okay, mom." Clementine smiles at her mother. "I'll just ignore him."_

Clementine hefts the shotgun up with her right hand, and dries her eyes with her left.

"I'm sorry, mom. I didn't want to." she mumbles. "I didn't – I didn't _mean_ to." she whispers. "I swear, I didn't." she chews her lip. "It just happened." she bows her head, going to silence. Luke looks over at her, worry showing on his face. He looks towards the end of the street, and winces.

The sight of two walkers at the end of the street the two are walking down makes him swear to himself, and he looks to his younger companion.

"Clem, walkers!" he urges, batting her arm. Clementine jolts out of her reverie. She sighs, unsheathing her knife. She eases her shotgun up, looping the shotgun's strap over her jacket. Luke withdraws his machete, twisting the handle in his hands. Luke does the same for his assault rifle, but not before he engages the safety quickly.

"I'll take the right one." Clementine mumbles, gripping her knife firmly. Her knuckles turn white from gripping the handle of her blade.

"Okay, yeah." Luke murmurs. "Be careful, you hear?" he says softly. Clementine strides towards the walker she's chosen, her heart sinking as she drinks in it's appearance.

It's wearing torn biker leathers, exposing a bloodied stomach. A gun holster is on it's hip, and a sheathe not unlike Luke's is draped under the backpack. Clementine realises sadly the walker would have been a survivor, judging by the backpack that's also hanging over it's shoulders. She feels sorry for the ex-survivor.

"I'll make it quick." she promises to the leather clad walker, raising her knife to shoulder height.

As the walker steps closer, Clementine swings the knife downwards. The walker chooses that moment to lunge, and the blade sticks in the monsters shoulder. Clementine curses foully at the living body, and it presses itself towards her further. She loops her fingers around the walkers neck and she prises the blade out of the shoulder. Keeping the walker at arms length, she buries the knife into the skull of the walker. The walker collapses, and Clementine shoves it down. She crouches over it and stabs it in the forehead, twisting the knife to make sure it's dead. _No one should suffer as a walker._ Clementine remembers the vow she made to herself a few mornings before, and she raises herself from the walker. Luke sighs as the walker lands on his machete, and crouches next to it.

The walker Luke had killed is much heavier built than the one Clementine had stabbed. A torn T-shirt, tattered jeans. Blood all over it's jeans. Clementine spots a backpack on it's back, and figures the two walkers were probably survivors together. She sighs sadly as she notices it's missing it's right arm, yet it's nowhere to be seen nearby. Clementine sighs as she realises the fatter walker had probably been bitten, and he'd probably tried to cut the bite off.

" _My arm is gone, because I cut it off." Lee admits quietly, looking up at the little girl._

 _"Why would you do that?" Clementine asks, her voice cracking in fear._

" _Because I was bitten, Clem." he whispers, looking down at his stump._

" _No... Please no... That's not true!" she begs, hugging herself at the idea of it._

" _Yes, Clem, it is." Lee corrects her, his voice thick._

Cutting it off never seems to work. Although, from what Christa had explained to her, Lee had left his bite unchecked for a full half hour before deciding to amputate. By then it would have spread, right? The young woman shudders at the thought of losing her arm. She reasons in her head that her left is half way there, scarred and damaged throughout the years. She hugs herself a little, watching as Luke rolls the walker over, and rips the machete out of the walker's skull.

"Nice work, Clem." he says, walking up to her. Clementine stares at the walker's stump for a few moments, before looking back to Luke.

"Thanks." she mutters, chewing her lip. She eases the shotgun back over her head, holding the weapon firmly in case of an emergency. Clementine can't help but wince at the weight.

" _It's heavy!" Clementine whines, looking up at Lee. He chuckles, ruffling her hat._

" _You'll get stronger." he assures her, crouching next to the small girl._

Clementine fiddles with her backpack strap, her shoulders aching from having to heft all of her belongings around at all time. She sighs, rolling her shoulders as she walks through the town. She can't just put her stuff down somewhere, though. Her and Luke are wanderers, no home to settle down in. The nineteen year old can't help but think about the idea of a home to live in, after helping Lee. Kenny and Christa were both insistent on a place up north in Michigan called Wellington, but that seems so far away to go on a hunch. Maybe if they knew for sure.

"Shit, Clem, people." Luke hisses, bringing Clementine back to reality. Her eyes widen.

"What, where?" she whispers. Luke points down the street, where two men are talking loudly. "Oh no. No no no..." Clementine holds her shotgun firmly, shaking.

The idea of maybe having to kill someone else, even if they are a bandit, shakes her to her core.

"It's okay, it's okay." Luke says reassuringly, looking around. "We're gonna head -"

"Hey, you guys friendly?" one of the men calls out. Clementine gasps, raising her shotgun.

"Woah woah, hey! Easy, lady!" the other yells, raising a pistol to match her.

"We're friendly, just relax!" Luke implores them. Despite this, Clementine keeps her shotgun pointed at the two strangers.

The first of the strangers stands a little to the left. He has a leather jacket not unlike Clementine's, with black jeans. His hair is unkempt, and brown in colour. He has thick framed glasses, which make his eyes appear to be way larger than they should be.

The second of the strangers stands further back, pistol pointed at Clementine's head. He has a long sleeved shirt on, similar to the one Lee would wear. Baggy jeans – no doubt from losing weight throughout the plague – with a knife sheath strapped to the thigh. Unlike his friend, he doesn't have glasses. Clementine notices the glower on his face, and raises the shotgun a little more to point it at him. The guy notices and narrows his eyes.

"What're your names?" the first asks loudly, looking at Clementine.

"I'm Luke. This is Clementine." Luke tells them quickly, raising his hands slightly.

"Clementine and Luke, huh?" the guy asks to confirm, and Luke nods.

 _"I'm Clementine! This is Luke!" Clementine calls out to the stranger on the bridge._

" _Clementine and Luke." he repeats slowly, looking at her. Clementine nods. "You two don't look like assholes. Are you assholes?" the man has a grin on his face._

" _I'm not an asshole." the eleven year old yells, touching her chest._

" _You sayin' I'm an asshole?" Luke teases, batting her arm playfully._

" _You did lock me in a -" Clementine starts defiantly, looking up at him with folded arms._

 _"Not right now, Clem." the twenty-six year old says quickly, looking at his smaller friend._

"Well, I'm Nathan!" the guy with the glasses calls out. "And my friend is called John!"

"Nice to meet ya." Luke says warmly. The second guy, John, ignores the warm remark. Clementine does the same, keeping her gun raised.

"You two bandits?" Nathan, the guy with the glasses, asks nervously. Luke shakes his head.

"We're not, I promise! We're not gonna hurt ya!" Luke tries his best to keep the peace.

"Tell your sister or whatever to put her gun down, then!" John cries out, gesticulating with his pistol, looking worriedly at the nineteen year old. Luke sighs, treading in front of Clementine.

"Listen, we're not gonna -" the farm boy talks in calm tones, a gentle smile on his face.

"Put the fuckin' guns down!" John roars, shaking slightly in his fear or anger.

"You first." Clementine says, her voice steady despite the fear festering in the pit of her stomach.

"Fuck you, stupid bitch!" the man snaps. Clementine feels rage boil in her at the insult.

"Fuck you too! Put the fucking gun down!" Clementine demands, furious.

"Clem... Easy..." Luke says softly, running a worried eye along the instrument of death clutched in her hands. The nineteen year old glowers at him. "Let me handle it, okay?"

"Fine." she mutters, diverting her smouldering gaze to the floor.

"How about we all put our guns down, nice and easy?" Luke suggests to the two strangers.

"Why? You guys been here long? This town is _fucked!_ I ain't letting go of my gun 'less I'm running!" John sounds incredulous.

"What do you mean, the town's fucked? We ain't seen many walkers." Luke sounds sceptical.

"It's not rotters you got to be afraid of, man! Bandits, they come through here a lot too!"

"Why? There aren't any communities here, are there?" the farm boy tilts his head.

"No, but there's a gas station just south of the town square. Still hasn't dried up. Fuck if I know how." Luke and Clementine look at each other, their hearts leaping at the possibilities this presents.

"Do you know where the bandit's come from?" Luke asks slowly to the man.

"Nah, they don't stay and talk." Nathan speaks up quickly. "Unless they're sticking us up."

"They take much?" Clementine asks, feeling guilt gnaw at her for snapping at the poor survivors.

"Medicine, they're a bunch of meth-riddled junkies. Pills are a decent enough alternative to weed in their books." he looks forlorn as he says that. Clementine pauses, thinking hard.

"Luke?" she whispers. Luke turns to face her. "Should we give them some? Help them out."

"That's good of ya, Clem, but..." Luke pulls a face, evidently not thrilled by the idea. "We really don't have enough to go givin' out stuff to everyone, and -"

"Please? What if it were us?" she begs quietly. Luke sighs.

"It could _be_ us, if we keep givin' stuff out." he tells her quietly, a slightly warning tone in his voice. Clementine glowers, thinking hard for a few moments on a counter to that. "It's not that I want 'em to die, Clem, really. But we have to look out for ourselves, and I really don't think it's a great idea that we -"

"Please, Luke." she tries again, her eyes wide. "I feel really bad, for them." Luke runs his eyes up and down his friend for a few moments, running a hand down his face as he weighs up the two options. He looks up to the sky and thinks long and hard for a long few seconds, before making up his mind.

"Okay, fine." he smiles slightly, before turning back to the two survivors. "You guys need some medical supplies to replace what you lost? We got a fair amount."

"You'd do that for us?" John lowers his pistol slightly, a curious look on his face. "What's the catch?"

"Isn't any." Luke smiles genuinely. "Survivor's have to look out for each other, right?"

"Uh... Well, we wouldn't say no." Nathan looks awkward, chewing his lip. "But you don't have to -"

"We want to." Clementine says quietly, lowering her shotgun slightly.

"That's real nice of you." he smiles. Clementine eases her backpack off her shoulders and rummages around, withdrawing a few pill bottles. She counts them quickly, making them out to be four, leaving eight for her and Luke. She stands up and walks over them hesitantly, holding out her hand.

"Gee, thanks, kid." John says awkwardly, scuffing his shoes. "This uh... Sorry about..."

"Forget it." the young woman says bluntly, lifting her bag up and settling it on her shoulders again.

"You guys – We... We won't forget this!" Nathan sounds awestruck by the nineteen year old's generosity, and Luke chuckles ever so slightly.

"Don't worry about it." Clementine says, a smile tugging at her lips. "Be careful." she says somewhat shyly, chewing her lip. Nathan nods quickly, grinning from ear to ear.

"You guys be safe, now." he says warmly, leading his friend away. "C'mon, dude." Clementine watches the two strangers wander off, and can't help but feel a little happier.

"That was a good thing you did, Clem." Luke tells her, standing next to her. Clementine smiles proudly at her trainers. "Can't have been easy, that loud one wasn't so nice to you."

"It was the right thing to do, that's what matters." the nineteen year old explains herself, looking around the abandoned town. "Anyway, we should go check out that gas station they were talking about, maybe the bandits left _something_ for their next supply run."

"Sounds like a plan to me." her older friend muses, happy his friend is talking again.

"All right, let's go." she mumbles, gesturing to the town square. The two start walking, Luke smiling at his nineteen year old friend. Clementine smiles weakly back, still not feeling great.

* * *

"Is this what we're looking for?" Clementine asks, poking her head into the doorway. Luke glances at her from his crouched position, unable to resist chuckling at the sight of his clueless friend.

"Nah, Clem, we need a jerry can." he smiles. Clementine looks at the small container in her hands.

"What's this, then?" she asks, tilting her head childishly.

"Give it 'ere." Luke requests, and Clementine palms it into his hands. "This is a measuring jug, Clem." he rolls it in his hands, chuckling. "Y'know, to measure amounts of fuel."

"What's the point of that? Didn't the pumps tell you?" the nineteen year old sounds more confused than curious to the actual point of the container. "Sounds like a waste of time."

"Who knows? It's one of life's great mysteries." he laughs weakly, tossing the jug to one side. It lands with a soft clatter in the corner. He stands up fully, rubbing his jaw. "You checked over by the burned out car?"

"Yeah, nothing there. Reckon those survivors were full of shit?" she asks, sounding pessimistic.

"Chin up, there'll be something." Luke says with a warm smile. "They would've told us if there was nothing, not everyone is out to get us, Clem."

"I know, it's just..." she sighs deeply, looking towards the pumps.

"Hospital?" Luke asks softly. Clementine nods quickly, chewing her lip. "Need to talk?"

"No."

"All right. Y'know where I am." the farm boy thinks of where to look, his eyes heavy from lack of sleep. Clementine doesn't talk for a few moments, taking a few breaths as she tries to shut out the memory of that accursed hospital.

"Should we check the pumps?" she asks quietly. The farm boy nods.

"Yeah, that's our best bet." he tells her, walking out the store room of the gas station. Clementine follows him out the dark room, grateful to be away from the damp smell. She smiles to herself as they step outside, breathing in fresh air. The sun is setting in the distance, and Clementine watches for a few moments.

She looks over to her friend as he crouches next to the gas pumps, looking at them thoughtfully. She can't help but wonder if he was really into cars before the apocalypse, like Kenny was with the RV. Or maybe her dad, with the family car whenever it didn't work.

" _Fucking thing!" Ed mutters angrily, fiddling with the engine. Clementine gasps. "Sorry, sweetie."_

" _That's a bad word!" she whispers, horrified. Her father chuckles, pulling her close._

" _I know, Clem. I won't say one again. Okay?" the little girl nods, her nose still crinkling in mild disgust from the smell of oil. That and the swear. "And uh..." he looks around, before whispering to her playfully. "Don't tell your mother for me, okay?"_

" _This time." the eight year old Clementine says, playfully stern. Ed laughs, smiling at his daughter._

" _Good girl. Now, how about you try the keys for me?" he holds out the keys._

 _"Wow, really?!" Clementine gasps, taking them in her small hand._

" _Sure, might get an idea what's wrong with the fu – I mean, damn – thing."_

Clementine smiles at the memory of helping her dad out, before looking back again at Luke.

"Anything?" she asks, holding the pump action shotgun loosely in her hands.

"Not that I can see, Clem." he tells her quietly, unable to hide the disappointment from his face.

"Wait, what's that?" the nineteen year old asks, walking towards a parked car. She nudges a red container with a black handle with her shotgun barrel. Luke looks over, a grin creeping onto his face.

"Hah, that's perfect!" the farm boy jogs over, looking delighted.

"Wait, what?" Clementine looks at the object, eyes wide.

"That's a jerry can, Clem. It's exactly what we need." he explains, picking it up with one hand and holding his assault rifle with the other.

"Huh." Clementine hums, looking happy with the results of the scavenging.

"There's another one here too. Nice work!" Clementine smile at the compliment and picks one up. She reckons that, figuring how easily Luke lifted his, it can't weigh more than a couple of pounds.

"Oh, shit!" she gasps, nearly fumbling the precious commodity from the sudden weight.

"You all right?" Luke asks, tilting his head. Clementine nods, hefting the jerry can up.

"I'm not going to be able to shoot carrying this damn thing." Clementine mutters angrily, glowering at the red container. Luke hums, scratching his chin while he thinks for a few seconds.

"How about that strap on your gun?" Luke asks, indicating the velcro like binding dangling free from the gun. Clementine looks at it, wondering what he means.

"What about it?" the young woman asks, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Could use that to carry the jerry can." he muses. Clementine hums for a moment, before easing the strap off the weapon's stock. She fiddles for a moment, tying the strap around the handle of the jerry can. She lets out a soft grunt as she lifts it up, hefting it over her right shoulder. The jerry can dangles just above her hip, and she smiles down at it.

"Good idea." she smiles at Luke. "Back to the truck?"

"Yep, exactly." the farm boy agrees, indicating the way back towards the town square. He attaches his assault rifle strap to his jerry can also, and drapes it over his shoulder. "We'll cut through the town, can't be more than an hours walk back to the truck."

"Okay." Clementine follows her friend out of the gas station, walking a little slower than usual owing to the jerry can filled with petrol dangling over her hip.

She feels stupid, looking back on it. She's _seen_ jerry can's before, back at the motor inn when they had traded gasoline for food. She had even watched Lee fill one up, talking furtively with Kenny about whether they thought the two brothers were telling the truth or not.

 _Clementine looks at her guardian as he stoops near the back of one of the cars, filling the red container with petrol._

" _What d'you reckon, pal?" Kenny asks as Lee fills the can slowly, tapping his foot against the hard tarmac floor of the motor inn while the dark liquid trickles into the container._

" _I don't know." Lee murmurs, scratching his beard. "They seem all right."_

 _"That don't count for much."_

 _"Yeah, ain't that the truth." the ex-teacher mutters. Clementine tilts her head as she listens to the two._

" _Just be careful." Kenny says lowly. "Ain't much use getting food if -"_

 _"Yeah, I know." Lee rumbles, standing up as he rattles the jerry can. He smiles. "That should be enough to keep the brothers happy."_

" _Lee?" the eight year old speaks up, her little voice filled with worry. Lee looks at her and smiles._

" _Hey. Clem. You okay?" she nods slowly. "Good." he looks back to Kenny._

" _Are you going to be gone long?" she speaks up again. Lee chuckles, looking at the eight year old again._

" _Probably not too long." he assures her "Mark, Carley and I are going to make sure the Saint John's are actually nice, then we'll be straight back."_

" _Okay." Clementine scuffs her shoes. "What's that?" she points at the odd looking container._

" _This is a jerry can, Clem. You hold oil in it." Lee tells her, a patient smile on his face. "You're a curious one today, huh?" he asks the little girl, somewhat teasingly._

" _Uh-huh." Clementine giggles slightly, and Lee chuckles._

The young woman huffs as the two travellers walk slowly back into the ghost town, cradling the trigger of her weapon delicately. At any moment, danger could arise and force them to act. Clementine looks up at the sky, seeing if any birds have suddenly taken refuge there. A sure fire way to tell if noise is being made – birds flying away. The young woman looks away, towards her friend.

Luke holds his assault rifle firmly in his right hand, his left buried into his pocket. He doesn't seem bothered by the heavy liquid dangling next to his waist, walking more or less the same as usual. He looks wary, a little bit of fear in his eyes. Evidently, the events of the hospital are still fresh in the thirty-four year old's mind.

The tension in the air is electrifying as the two walk along. The fear of a group of walkers lumbering into view, or bandits arriving in cars. It keeps Clementine's hairs on end as she creeps along, careful not to make too much noise. Luke leads the way back towards the town, his eyes flitting around the streets.

"You see anything?" Luke asks softly, looking to his friend.

"Nothing." she tells him in a quiet voice. "But there might be something hiding in the trees."

"Was what I was thinking." the farm boy agrees, a worried look on his face. "We'd probably hear them though, right Clem?" Clementine can't tell if he's trying to reassure himself or her.

"Maybe." the nineteen year old says slowly, unconvinced.

"We'll be fine." Luke says, his usual tone of certainty returning to his voice. "Nothing jumped us on the way out here." he reasons, smiling at his younger friend. Clementine smiles back, if only for his sake. The smile fades quickly as a hellish noise greets her ears, and she looks over Luke's shoulder. "What?" he asks quickly.

"You and your big mouth." she mutters, shifting her shotgun to her left hand. Clementine withdraws her knife as Luke turns on the spot. A group of five walkers are shambling towards them, gnashing their teeth and waving their claw like hands.

"Shit!" Luke hisses, backing up slightly and withdrawing his trusty machete. "Crap, how didn't we hear them coming?" he whispers, looking frustrated with himself.

"I dunno." Clementine mumbles simply, twisting her knife in her grip as the walkers stagger closer. Clementine regards the small group worriedly, looking to her friend. "You don't think a herd's forming, do you?"

A herd is a survivor's nightmare. A congregation of the living dead, sometimes thousands strong. A telltale sign for a survivor that a herd is building is when small groups of the monsters start to form in towns or along roads. Usually, these groups are making their ways to join a larger group. Clementine is more than a little fascinated by how it works, if equally horrified and repulsed.

"Might be, Clem." Luke murmurs, looking worried by the thought.

"Fuck." she breathes, twisting her knife in her right hand as her heart pounds in her chest. Whenever she sees, or even thinks of, a herd, she remembers sadly _that_ day with Lee. The night her guardian died, after he had lead her through the huge group of the undead. Stepping over some dead bodies of walkers, nearly tripping over the first which had half it's head missing. Lee had looked nervous as the two trod outside the Marsh House to face the herd, his eyes wide and a soft swear word tumbling out his lips.

" _What the fuck..." Lee murmurs, his eyes widening in shock at the sight of the walkers._

" _There's so many." she whispers to her guardian. Lee's breath is coming out heavily. His eyes shut for a moment. He doesn't look right._

" _Don't be afraid, sweetheart. Stay close to me." he croaks out the last words._

"What do we do?" the nineteen year old whispers, looking to Luke.

"We take 'em." Luke tells his friend quietly, tightening his hold on the machete.

"Is that a good idea?" Clementine asks sceptically. "We could just -"

"Never said it was a good idea." Luke grins. "But it's either that or running, and with these big ol' things -" he gestures to the jerry can on his hip and the one dangling off Clementine's shoulder strap. "That ain't really an option."

"Okay, fine." the young woman breathes, the small group almost upon them.

"That's the spirit." Luke says, slapping the woman on the back. She plants her feet, waiting for the walkers to come to her.

"Come on, come and get it." she whispers to them, preparing herself.

The first walker to arrive is hunched over, making him look ancient. He's wearing a tattered business suit, a line of rope firmly knotted around his neck. It looks torn. Clementine's eyes widen as she realises where the tear probably came from.

" _Jesus." Luke mutters, looking at the hanging bodies. Clementine raises an eyebrow._

" _What are – um – what are they doing?" the twelve year old asks, somewhat naïvely._

" _Uh... They gave up, Clem." the farm boy explains apologetically, looking at the swaying bodies._

" _They're dead?" she gasps, staring at the nearest._

" _Yeah." Luke says solemnly. "We should go, they'll probably be turnin' soon."_

 _"Right... Yeah..."_

A pissed off walker can easily claw itself free from a poorly made noose. And now, here one was. Clementine winces and swings her knife, the wide movement cutting the walkers weak skull in half. She groans, appalled by the smell, and turns to face the next one. She's wearing a red hoodie, with torn navy jeans. It's hair is tied back in a ponytail. It reaches forwards with one of it's clawed hands hungrily, and Clementine stabs it in the chest. The walker shrieks, pushing forward despite the blade in it's body. Clementine curses, trying to pull the blade while keeping the walker at bay. She swears to herself before raising the shotgun in her left hand, pushing it into the walker's forehead. The nineteen year old pulls the trigger, giving the knife a hard tug as she does so. The gun kicks in her hand, and she nearly fumbles the heavy weapon from the recoil. The walker collapses and Clementine stumbles backwards, knife covered in dark blood but ready to kill again.

Luke slashes his machete, burying the blade in one's forehead. He doesn't try to pull the blade free, instead twisting on the spot and firing his assault rifle at the second walker. The fifth bullet from the burst of automatic fire crashes into the walkers skull, and it lands on the floor with a sickening thump.

The final walker is moving with heavy steps, reaching towards Luke. A ripped band shirt, with a skull and two crossed daggers on it. Shorts and boots with a large heel on them. Torn fishnet stockings. Long, blood stained hair. Missing teeth, but the ones there are jagged and yellowed. Clementine drops her knife to hold her gun in both hands and pumps a round into her shotgun loudly, the mechanism clunking loudly as it discharges a shell and chambers the next.

"Luke, duck!" the nineteen year old cries. Luke covers his head and ducks low, and Clementine fires the shotgun for the second time that day. The gun lets off a deafening _boom,_ making the young woman let out a long breath she didn't know she was holding in. The female walker that had been reaching out for Luke is flung backwards as it dies, the force of the shotgun shell making it's head crater.

"Jesus... Nice... Nice shooting, Clem." her friend says softly, standing up slowly. He places his machete back in it's sheathe, breathing slowly. He checks his rifle for damage, letting out a quiet hum as he looks at the antique looking bolt on the side of the gun.

"You sound surprised." Clementine observes wryly, chambering another round into her shotgun before picking up her knife. She places it neatly back in the holster on her hip, shifting the shotgun so that she's holding it by the pump. Luke chuckles at his friend's comment, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I'm not surprised." he counters, a slight grin on his face. Clementine raises her eyebrow, a playful smile tugging at her lips. Luke looks at the floor for a moment, humming. "Okay, maybe a _little_ surprised."

"Asshole." she mutters, the smile widening. Luke chuckles, leading the way again.

"You've perked up." Luke tells her, looking happy. The young woman smiles.

"Want me to shut up again?" she asks sarcastically, looking at him with her wide golden eyes.

"No, I wasn't saying -"

"Then shut up and keep walking." his young friend advises softly, scanning the forest.

"Good advice." Luke chuckles, walking along the abandoned road with his companion.

Clementine smiles at the back and forth between the two, looking at her trainers as they walk. She's trying to cheer herself up, telling herself that being a murderer doesn't define her as a person. She has to be tough for her and her friend. If she recedes in on herself, she knows that it could mean the death of either of them. She has to be strong.

" _I know... I know..." Lee murmurs, rubbing her back up and down as he hugs the sobbing eight year old close. "But you gotta be strong right now." he pulls her to arms length and smiles reassuringly. "I need you to be strong! Think about something else! Something … Something hopeful!" he urges her. Clementine looks down at him._

" _Like what?" she breathes, shaking. Lee pauses for a moment, looking to one side, before looking up at the little girl._

" _How about your walkie talkie? Those pretend talks you'd have with your mom and dad? They make you feel better, right?"_

 _"Sometimes." she squeaks, nodding._

It's not always easy to keep soldiering on, as the world falls apart in your mind. Clementine knows this better than most, having suffered so much adversity during her relatively short time as a living, breathing person. Even though she's a rugged survivor. she's not infallible. Everyone has their own demons to fight in this living hell, and the young woman is no exception to that rule. Everyone has a limit to how much they can take in this world.

But she's determined to not give up. She has to maintain hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Lee died to keep her safe, those ten years ago. He can't have died in vain. The nineteen year old won't even entertain the thought. If she dies, in her eyes she'll have failed Lee even more than she already has. She's survived this long by Luke's side, by being smart and maintaining some form of hope from day to day. The hospital incident is no different to her – maintain hope that everything will get better, and keep strong for her and her only friend left.

" _Clem? You okay, kid?" Luke asks the eleven year old, who's hugging her knees and sniffling on the bed they've found. The apartment building was a stroke of luck to find._

" _Not really."_

 _"What you thinking about?"_

 _"A.J." she mumbles. "I really cared about him, Luke." the farm boy sighs and sits down next to her,_

" _I know you did." he says gently, offering an arm for her. She shuffles closer to him and he hugs her close with one arm. The little girl lays her head on his arm._

" _I miss him." she croaks._

" _I know, I do too. But it'll get easier, yeah?" he assures her, smiling weakly._

And it had. Slowly, steadily, the pain of losing the innocent baby had eased away. Clementine is hopeful that it will be the same coming to terms with her being a murderess. The initial pain has not faded – indeed, it still makes her heart hurt when she thinks of that little piece of humanity she's surrendered to the plague – but she feels a little more reassured after three days of coming to terms with it with her friend at her side.

"Clem?" Luke's voice makes her flinch, and she looks over at her friend. "Sorry, you looked a million miles away from here."

"Hah, I wish." she mumbles, smiling.

"Where would you rather be, then?"

" _Do you like it here?"_

 _"I don't... like it here." the small child emphasises the word like, and Lee nods._

" _Do you want to leave?" he asks, sitting opposite her._

" _Where are we going?" Lee sighs, nudging the chalks towards the nine year old._

" _Somewhere else." he answers cryptically, regarding the little girl curiously._

" _I don't know... Maybe if I knew where?" she looks at her guardian expectantly. Lee sighs._

 _"Ha, yeah, that'd be a good thing to know."_

"I dunno." the nineteen year old hums. "Mexico?"

"Never been." Luke muses, looking at his friend.

"Nor have I, but my mom and dad went before I was born."

"That so?" the farm boy raises a solitary eyebrow at that piece of trivia.

"Yup, they told me about it when I was little. Sounded nice."

"Maybe it's better there." Luke reasons, looking to his friend.

"Maybe." she humours the idea, but isn't convinced.

As far as she's concerned, if the rest of the world wasn't affected by the walkers, they would've sent help by now. The other countries must have been affected, and she can't imagine they're faring much better than the Americas. Every state she's visited over the course of the plague, it's been the exact same – bandits, walkers and desolation. Occasionally, there'd be a group of survivors trying to make a life for themselves. But those groups always seemed to fall apart, from Clementine's experience. The motor inn group when it all started, then the cabin group two years later. Every group she's been a part of has fallen apart, torn at the seams by infighting or external forces ripping them apart – both metaphorically and, in some unfortunate cases, literally. Ever since the day the world fell apart ten years ago, every place she has visited looks almost the same in it's destruction. The nineteen year old sighs, saddened by the thought of the whole world being overrun by walkers.

"What about you?" she asks, shaking herself from the depressing thought. "Where would you go?"

"I dunno, kid. Big world out there."

"Yeah." she says softly, lapsing into silence. The two survivors walk carefully, their nerves still shot from the encounter with the walkers.

Clementine's legs pound in pain, and she groans to herself. She looks to her friend with wide, tear filled eyes. Luke chooses that moment to look at his friend, his brow furrowing at the look on her face.

"You okay? You look -"

"My legs really ache." she says quietly, moaning in pain as the jerry can hits the same point on her leg yet again.

"Let's sit down for a sec, my feet really hurt too." he says, pointing at a bench. Clementine nods quickly, stumbling over and sitting down on the cracked bench. She sighs in relief, shutting her eyes.

"I needed that." she whispers, smiling serenely at the pain fleeing her leg. The young woman looks to her left as Luke sits next to her, putting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. "Are you okay?" she asks slowly.

"Fine, just got a headache, Clem." her friend mutters, rubbing his forehead slowly.

"Oh, okay."

Clementine rubs her legs slowly, wincing in pain. Even though she's far from unhealthy – almost everyone who's still alive at this point is in good physical condition from the running and fighting they have to do to survive - long walks make the young woman's body ache and throb. Especially when she's carrying a backpack filled with survival gear and books. And that's not mentioning the fully loaded pump shotgun and a jerry can filled to the brim with petrol dangling off her shoulder. She looks down at her left hip, where her pistol is usually tucked away. Since the hospital, however, Clementine is reluctant to take the weapon in her hands. Clementine shakes her head, determined not to think about that hellish encounter. She eases her backpack off and reaches into it, withdrawing a half full water bottle. She looks at it longingly for a second, before turning to Luke.

"Would some water help?" she asks quietly, holding the plastic bottle out for him.

"Thanks, Clem." he takes the bottle loosely, before unscrewing the cap and downing most of it in one go. Clementine smiles, grateful it's going to good use, before looking towards the town square again. She thinks of the truck, unable to repress the smile that creeps onto her face at the idea of being able to rest her legs and catch a good nights sleep. Or at least, enough sleep to function.

"Here, you hold onto this." her friend holds out the water bottle, and Clementine takes it back gratefully. There's still a little left, which Clementine drinks quickly. She sighs, pushing the bottle back into her pack.

"We'll need to get some more water soon."

"I think I left some in the truck." Luke grimaces. "I know the tent's in there. Shit, and the crossbow."

"I'm sure they're fine, we hid it in the middle of a forest." Clementine mumbles, unable to stop herself thinking about the stranger who had tricked her into leaving Lee. He had probably thought his supplies were fine, but then her desperate group had stumbled upon it and – despite her and Lee's desperate pleas that it wasn't right – taken everything inside, save for a child sized hoodie.

" _Don't worry, Ducky, it's abandoned."_

" _What if it's not?" little Clementine speaks up, looking worried. The group turns to face her. "Well... What it's not abandoned? What if it IS someone's?" her voice is filled with fear. Lee considers it for a moment, before walking up to Clementine. He smiles at her._

" _You're right, we shouldn't take this." he agrees with her warmly._

" _What?!" Kenny shouts, furious. "Did you get some meal that the rest of us missed out on?" Lee sighs, glowering at the southerner. "We have to take this stuff!"_

 _"We can survive without stealing from others." Lee says in a low, fierce voice._

" _The hell we can!" Kenny snaps, pointing at him furiously._

" _We'll find a way, Kenny."_

 _"No. The rest of us are takin' this stuff." Kenny snaps, holding out his hands for the keys._

What a mistake that had turned out to be. Clementine feels pity for the man who had taken her away. Yes, he had gotten Lee killed. She hates him for that. And yet, it was all because he lost his family. The man had told her what had happened after Lee's group took his things, and the little girl had felt very sorry for the man. He had lost everything that mattered to him, and all that had drove him from then until he died was an all consuming desire for revenge.

Stealing always has horrific repercussions, in Clementine's opinion. Whenever someone stole something, it was usually something important to a survivor in the apocalypse – medicine, food, water. Taking any of these from a group with almost nothing left was a death sentence. The only other experience the young woman had with stealing was the time Ben had stolen supplies from the other survivors at the motel and given them to the bandits. And that had ended horribly. They lost their home. Lilly went crazy, shot Carley, and then stole the RV. Duck got bit and, because of that, Katjaa killed herself.

Because of stealing.

These events were eye opening to the little girl, teaching her that, despite the world coming to an end, man is still a greedy beast that will gladly steal from another to keep themselves alive. At least most people are. Clementine feels a sense of pride for herself, glad she hasn't become a bandit or a thief in her ten years of being a survivor. But then she thinks of what she _has_ become, and her stomach sinks as the word "murderer" etches itself into her mind.

Luke bats her arm, and she looks at him.

"You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm ready to get moving." she pushes herself to her feet, sounding confident.

"Good, we shouldn't sit around too long." her friend nods, standing up from the bench. "Let's get back to the truck, and make some _real_ ground on Savannah."

"Sounds like a plan to me." the nineteen year old says, smiling at her older friend. Clementine walks next to her friend as they walk out towards the town centre, her brow furrowed.

She won't think about Rowan any more. She can't change the past by thinking about it.

She _will_ get back to Savannah, to help Lee. Or she'll die trying.

Clementine looks up to the sky, the setting sun painting the town in a haunting light. She rolls her shoulders, shifting the weight that's on her shoulder.

"Hold on Lee... We're nearly there." she tells the heavens softly, ignoring the weight on her shoulders from the fuel and her survival gear. She walks firmly, a determined look on her face.


	4. Chapter Four - Closer and Closer

A/N :

Hey, guys and gals!

Before anything else, a huge huge thank you from the bottom of my heart for a FANTASTIC five hundred and twenty-eight views! That's over half a thousand, holy crap! Thank you all so so much, it has made my week watching the view count go up! Hopefully it won't be too long before the big ol' one thousand rolls on by, eh?

Results day went better than I expected, thus why I'm uploading today! This good mood should last through the week while I write chapter five - should keep me motivated to write something for all you lovely folk!

Chapter four - exciting stuff! It has a few more action scenes than previous chapters. I'm choosing to focus in on showing the horrific circumstances our plucky survivors get in on a day-to-day basis. The last chapter will be being written up later today, for now I'm going to bask in my achievement for the rest of the day then get back to writing!

Now, as ever, before this penultimate chapter, I'm going to address the reviews I got for the last chapter:

TheDomdotCom : Hey again! You don't need to be sorry for the short review, any and all reviews are massively appreciated, honestly. Chapter three was always intended to be slower than two, but I didn't intend to get such a disparity between the two. Hopefully this'll fix that a little! The characters of John and Nathan weren't easy to write - I wanted them to be polar opposites, which is difficult to make look authentic for me. I liked the idea of opposites travelling together, though, and I think it accentuated how similar Luke and Clem are by comparison. Thanks for finding that scene with the jerry can funny! I had quite a bit of fun writing Clementine as being a little bit naive, even though she's a bad ass walker killer. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Now, my inner hardcore Batman fan is going to hate me for saying this but, thanks for calling me Superman, I guess! I write all of this as it comes, and upload the day after I've finished - this gives me time to polish and clean it up a little before upload. I update my profile regularly with word counts, so anyone who looks has a good idea of how far I've gotten with each chapter. I hope this chapter is as good as the last three, and hopefully you'll stick around for the journey's end next chapter! Though that may not be all from my interpretation of Clem and Luke... *twirls moustache mysteriously*

Guest : Thank you, so much! That's a humbling review to read, and I'm honestly delighted you'd take the time to write such nice things! I'll be honest when I say I don't read much FanFiction either - I'm too worried I'll get really into one and forget to write this one! However, after writing this I'll be checking other ones out! Thanks again for the kind review, it was really nice of you to leave one! I hope this quantifies as great work, I worked pretty hard on this one!

All righty roo, that's the reviews for this chapter done! Um... Thanks again for the views! If you have any comments, critiques or requests please leave them in a review! Favourite's and follows are NOT expected but ARE massively appreciated! If anything in this chapter changes, it'll be in an update in the A/N with details on what changed and why. That's about everything, I think.

Edit - 12:57 GMT, 23/08/2016:

Changed a word around so that it makes grammatical sense:

"They're departure had been uneventful..." has been changed to "Their departure had been uneventful..."

Further, I've taken the liberty of rewording a couple of scenes throughout to help the pacing. There's a few too many for me to list here, but they mainly occur before the jump.

I hope you all enjoy, see you at the next one!

\- BHBrowne

* * *

Clementine looks miserably at her friend as he fiddles with the truck engine. She turns the steering wheel idly with her right hand, crossing the fingers on her left.

Two days have passed since the two left the quiet town of McCormick. Their departure had been uneventful and, once the truck was fuelled up again, they had hit the road towards Savannah again. However, the truck is now pulled over on the side of a road. Luke is leaning into the front, trying desperately to fix the knackered engine. For the past twenty miles, the two survivors had tried their best to ignore the loud banging coming from the front of the car. But when the engine had let out a loud _crash_ , the elder of the two had decided to get out and see what was going on. And that's when smoke had poured out, making him cough and retch.

For what feels like hours, now, the nineteen year old has been sitting in the front seat, turning the keys over whenever her friend calls out. She's starting to feel more than a little hopeless, however, as her friend seems to be running out of ideas.

"Try now." Luke says wearily, sounding defeated. Clementine turns the key, and her heart leaps as she hears the truck's engine rattle. The hope she's feeling is extinguished, however, when the car sputters to a halt. She sighs, looking down at the wheel again.

"We're going to have to walk, aren't we?"

"Probably, kid." the farm boy mutters, scratching his neck as he peers around the engine again.

"Shit." the nineteen year old says softly, running her fingers along the steering wheel miserably. She leans around the door again. "There's no way we can fix it?"

"Unless we can get a new battery, no." Luke looks up at her.

"I have two in my torch." Clementine replies, gesturing to her backpack. A smile curls her lips.

"Hah." he wipes his mouth, grinning at his younger friend's joke. "They'd need to be a little bigger, Clem."

"How much bigger?" the young woman hops out the car and walks over to her friend. She leans towards the engine, tilting her head at the mess of wires and battered parts.

"That much bigger." Luke indicates a large block, looking at his friend tiredly. Clementine sighs, looking back at the exhausted farm boy. She can't stifle the chuckle that tumbles out her lips at the sight of his grimy face and stained shirt. The sticky oil is clinging to his originally white T-shirt. She hands him a worn out rag that they'd found earlier in the glove box, and he gratefully accepts it.

"So we're walking?" Clementine asks, her shoulders slumping. Luke looks over after cleaning his face with the rag, tossing it back to her.

"Yeah. Damn shame." he bats her arm. "Get your stuff, we'll find a good place to set down for the night. We're real close to Savannah now, kid."

The very mention of word Savannah makes Clementine's heart leap. She smiles,getting back into the truck and reaching behind her. With a little effort, she pulls her backpack towards her and starts reaching inside. She rummages around, past the chapter book and the playing cards and the map of America, and feels her fingers brush against the cool steel of a key chain. She withdraws them on her finger, staring at the set of keys with a sad look on her face.

" _Snatch the keys. In case you have to make a run for it, Clem." Lee murmurs, staring up at her sadly. Clementine looks at her dying friend, tears flooding her vision._

" _O – Okay, Lee." she breathes, looking back towards the walker._

She sighs at the memory, before grabbing the shotgun from the back seat of the car also. She slings her backpack onto her shoulders and hops out the car. A cool breeze murmurs past as the young woman hooks the keys in the belt loop on her jeans. The keys jingle in the gentle wind, and Luke flinches as he closes the hood to the truck with a smart _clunk._

"What was that?" Luke asks quickly, looking around nervously.

"Oh – Sorry, they're my keys."

"I didn't know you had keys." the farm boy observes shrewdly.

"They're for the jewellery store." Clementine mutters, holding the shotgun in both hands.

"Ah." Luke hums, choosing not to pursue the subject. Clementine hands him his coat, and he takes it gently. "Cheers, kid."

"Not a problem." she says quietly, rolling her shoulders. Luke zips his coat up before picking up his backpack from next to the front right wheel. "Where do you think we are?"

"Well, we're in Georgia." he says, looking around. He scratches his neck. Luke withdraws his map from his pack, and lays it out over the hood of the car. Clementine stands next to him, looking at the large piece of paper over her friends shoulder. Luke is muttering to himself, tracing a route with his pointer finger. He taps a point on the map, a slight smile on his lips.

"What?"

"Well. That's Savannah, right?" Luke looks at his younger friend, who nods. "Well, I think we're _here._ " he points at a different place, further inland.

"Statesboro?" she asks quietly, frowning at the name.

"Think so, Clem. Near enough, anyway."

Clementine smiles at the map, satisfied they're definitely getting closer to Savannah. She figures it's not more than two days travel to get to the first city of Georgia. The young woman uses her finger to draw a line between the two points, her smile widening.

"Let's get going, then." she says eagerly. Luke chuckles.

"Sounds good." he starts leading the way into town, rifle at the ready. "Keep an eye on the forest, Clem."

"Okay." she agrees, her voice gentle as she starts walking next to her friend. She raises her shotgun as she walks, watching the forest around her for walkers or bandits. But all is quiet in the late evening air, the only sounds being that of birds singing and wind whispering past the two travellers. Clementine's keys jangle in the wind again, and both flinch at the sound. The nineteen year old scowls at the repetitive noise, and in a fit of impatience she stuffs them into her left hand pocket. She reaches into her right and traces the outline of the photo of Lee, glad that it's still with her even after all her travels.

The young woman focusses again, holding her shotgun firmly. Her pistol is tucked into the back of her jeans, the nineteen year old only the night before finding the courage to hold the weapon she used to kill Rowan. She keeps the shotgun in her grasp, however, finding some small comfort in being able to ground herself in the grim reality she lives in whenever she clutches the cold steel of the shotgun's pump. Though honestly, she sometimes can't figure out whether or not she'd prefer to lose herself in the nightmares that haunt her every night, rather than soldier on in the nightmare she lives every day.

She shakes her head, trying to clear her mind. The world is taking it's toll on her, after ten years of fighting to survive in it. She'd been so young when it all began, she wonders if that worked for or against her. On the one hand, she didn't spend too long in the old world. As it goes, she's spent more time living in the new world than in the old. But on the other, she never got to experience growing up in a safe environment. She'll never get to. The young woman sighs, weighing the two up in her mind.

" _How old are you?" the man called Lee asks softly through the walkie talkie._

" _Eight." Clementine responds meekly from her tree house._

" _And you're all alone?" he murmurs, seemingly amazed._

" _Yes. I don't know where anyone is!" she takes a few moments to compose herself. "How – Um – How old are you?"_

 _"I'm uh... I'm thirty-seven." Lee says awkwardly._

" _Okay." she hums, looking into the kitchen at the confused looking stranger. He seems nice enough, but she's not sure she can trust him._

Clementine sighs, rubbing her recently stitched shoulder. An irritated sigh leaves her lips as her fingers brush the thread holding her wound together, and she decides to not touch the shoulder again. The young woman chews her lip as she walks next to the farm boy, her eyes tracking along the forest running next to them. She stops suddenly at the sound of rustling near them. Luke clearly hears it too.

"What do you think that was?" Clementine whispers, looking at the forest with her shotgun raised.

"I don't know." Luke mutters, twisting the machete in his grasp. "We should -"

Their conversation is interrupted by the hungry groan of a walker. Clementine gasps as three walkers stumble out onto the road in front of them. More walkers are heard in the forest surrounding them, but the young woman ignores that for a moment as she notices the same noise again. It's further away this time, though. Clementine raises her shotgun towards the source, but an even more distant swaying sound indicates that whatever is making the noise is moving away. Clementine twists to face the walkers that are quickly flooding the road into town. A small group of walkers are dragging themselves towards the pair of survivors, and they're closing in quickly. Some are missing limbs, others are missing jaws or other pieces of their body. All of them are hungry, and all of them are heading their way. Clementine raises her gun, her heart pounding in her ears.

" _No! Ben! Help her!" Lee howls, pointing at Clementine as the walker group closes in around them. Clementine whimpers loudly, looking up at her friend. Ben pauses for a moment, shakes his head, and runs off. Clementine screams, her chest rising and falling as her friend abandons her. "God dammit!" Lee roars, firing his pistol at the walkers closest to Clementine._

She turns to face Luke, sweating and shaking slightly. He curses to himself.

"What are we doing, Luke?" she asks quickly, watching in mounting horror as more and more walkers stumble out of the forest. She lowers her shotgun, feeling more than a little hopeless.

"Running sounds good." he croaks, twisting towards the city limits. Clementine nods, racing down the road. Luke sprints next to her. She shoves a walker that reaches out towards her and keeps running, her legs aching as she puts as much distance between herself and the walkers as possible.

Her heart beats like a war drum in her chest, her breathing getting more ragged as she continues to run. Her mind runs wild with the horrific possibilities that could have caused the noise. Her heart sinks as she realises walkers don't sneak. She feels fear run up and down her spine at the idea of a group of bandits stalking them, as well as the walkers following them. The thought of bandits makes Clementine's heart pound faster than it already had been.

The two tear into the city of Statesboro, not slowing down in the slightest until they're clear from the trees that line the road leading to town. Luke slaps her back, and she looks over at him. He gestures to an abandoned book store, and his younger companion nods as she runs. The two dart inside, Luke slamming the door shut behind him. Clementine doubles over, breathing heavily. Her lungs burn, her breath coming out in short, sharp wheezes. Luke stands up first, coughing.

"I think... I think we lost 'em, Clem."

"M – Maybe." she huffs, standing up slowly. She coughs, feeling like a knife is being twisted in between her ribs. The nineteen year old takes slow, shaky, breaths. She looks up and around the book store, not able to stop the smile crossing her face at the sight of all the books. Hundreds of years of knowledge, all contained within these walls. Clementine breathes out slowly, standing fully.

"You good?" he asks gently, peering out the window of the store. Clementine nods, running her finger along one of the bookcases.

"Yeah. Thanks." she looks at the door, half expecting to see a walker breaking it's hand through the wooden material. "We should block the door, then get out of here."

"Good idea, Clem." he commends his young friend, turning his back on the door. "What do you -"

A loud crash silences the farm boy, a walker's arm smashing the window next to the door. Within mere seconds, the rest of the walkers from before join in. Dozens of hands pierce the thin walls and windows of the dilapidated book store, clutching and grasping hungrily for something to devour.

"Fuck!" Clementine cries, raising her shotgun. She sucks in her breath and pulls the trigger of the gun quickly, the gun letting off a loud _bang_ as it discharges it's first round. One of the many bodies clamouring to get in flies backwards. Clementine pumps a round into the weapon, her fingers slipping all over the mechanism as her fear consumes her.

"Shit, kid, keep firing at 'em!" Luke shouts. "I'll block the door, then we're runnin', got it?"

"Got it!" she yells back, firing her weapon at another walker. The moans and groans grow louder at the sound of the gun firing, loud crashes accompanying their hellish noises. Luke shoves a bookcase over, pinning it against the door.

"C'mon, we gotta get!" the farm boy cries to his friend. Clementine nods frantically, back pedalling towards the fire exit at the rear of the store. As Clementine starts to run, however, a greying hand grabs for her ankle. The young woman screams, her gun discharging as she crashes to the floor. A walker with long matted hair pulls at the nineteen year old's foot hungrily. The denim shirt the walker is wearing is drenched with blood. The nineteen year old notices that the walker has no legs, and can't help but wonder where they are as she scrabbles against the walker's iron grasp. Clementine kicks the walker's skull like face desperately, trying to crush it's brain with her trainers. Luke looks over, horrified.

"Shit, Clem!" he hollers, running back to her. Clementine stamps on the walker with her other foot, trying her best to stop it from sinking it's rotting teeth into her flesh. Luke raises his machete, his eyes darting back and forth between his friend and her assailant.

Luke swallows. He can't afford to fuck this one up. He swallows, preparing to swing the blade back down. His breathing is hard as he holds the bladed instrument high, trying to find the perfect moment to swing his weapon. Clementine stamps on the walker's rotting skull with her other foot again, succeeding in making the crippled walker recoil for a few seconds. The young woman draws her pistol and fires in one fluid motion, the walker crunching into the floor. Clementine lets out some gasping breaths as she scuttles backwards, pushing herself to her feet. She snatches up her shotgun and looks at her friend.

"We have to go!" she shouts, watching with trepidation as the door rattles ominously.

"Yeah, come on, move!" Luke pushes her ahead slightly, looking over his shoulder as the walkers slam against the door. Their arms puncture the door over and over, scratching and clawing at the book case impeding their progress. Clementine looks at the fire escape for a moment, before wrenching the door open as hard as she can.

"Oh, come _ON!_ " Clementine bellows, furious. Three walkers turn over in the fire escape corridor, groaning hungrily. Blood trickles down their chins, crooked teeth bared at the two survivors. The first lets out a seemingly delighted shriek as it reaches out for the young woman, and Clementine fires her shotgun at it. It looks like it used to be a pharmacist of sorts, with dark hair tumbling down it's back. The second walker snaps it's jaws at the young woman, but Clementine ignores it for a half moment quickly looks behind her at the door. The bookcase is getting pushed from the force of the walker onslaught.

They don't have long.

"You deal with them! I'll watch the door!" Luke yells to his friend, who nods determinedly. She faces the last two walkers, watching as the undead pair start to make their way towards her. Clementine fires her shotgun again, splattering the second walker's brains. She pumps the shotgun and raises her gun, pulling the trigger. A soft _click_ makes the young woman look down at her weapon, a loud moan escaping her lips.

"No, no! Fuck!" she howls, fumbling a shell out of her pocket and slamming it into the receiver. The last walker rises to it's feet, reaching out with a taloned hand for her. Luke looks at it, fear evident on his face at his friend's screams, stepping in front of his friend and slashing his machete in a wide arc. The walker's neck spurts blood as it collapses, and Luke looks at his friend.

"You okay? Not bit, right?" he asks hurriedly.

"No, no." she croaks. "Thanks."

"Not the time." he says quickly, looking at the doorway. "Move, now!" he pushes her through the fire exit. Luke grabs the door and slams it shut behind him as the first walkers burst through the door, crawling into the store. The two fling themselves outside, sprinting out back into the street.

"Now where?" she asks quickly, looking back into the store. The walkers are pounding against the fire escape door. The door is already buckling. Luke looks around, his shoulders sagging.

The back area of the book store isn't looking like a good place to be for the two survivors. The fire escape is soon going to be flooded with walkers. A tall metal fence towers around them, with barbs on the top, impossible to climb. Luke curses foully, before spotting a worn out access ladder, with the lower steps missing, whether from erosion or exterior forces Luke isn't sure.

"Up!" he calls out, running to the ladder. Clementine runs behind him, panting like a dog. "You first, then you help me!"

"No, you first -" she starts, looking worriedly at her friend. Luke shakes his head.

"Up, now!" he yells. Both go stock still as a loud crash is heard from within the store. "Shit, c'mon!" Luke cups his hands, and Clementine puts her foot in his hands. He boosts her up, and Clementine uses the leg up to grab the ladder, breathing heavily. She twists on the spot and holds out her left hand, gripping the ladder firmly with her right. Luke holds her wrist and Clementine lifts with all her might, letting out a determined cry as she hoists her friend up. He grabs onto the lowest rung possible and lets go of Clementine's hand. Clementine clambers up the metal ladder as quickly as she can, doing her best to calm herself down. She rolls over when she lands on the roof, coughing and wheezing. Luke vaults over, landing neatly on his feet.

"Are … Are we safe?" Clementine wheezes, pushing herself to her feet.

"Not 'till we're clear from this roof." he says grimly. "We gotta get outta here as fast as we can, kid."

" _Clementine, we have to get out of here as fast as we can." Lee whispers, his voice weak._

" _We can't! There's thousands of them outside!" she squeaks, shaking._

" _We have to. We'll push through. I'll protect you." he promises in his tired voice, looking at Clementine._

" _No, no, that's crazy! I saved you! We're safe here, I locked us in!" she tries to make Lee smile, but it has the exact opposite effect. Lee's face falls and he looks at the little girl with horror in his eyes._

"We can't go back into the store." Clementine whispers, looking at the roof access. The walker's moans and groans are almost deafening as they spill out into the street behind them. Some, however, seem to still be in the store below them. The young woman looks at the roof access door, her chest rising and falling quickly as the door starts to strain.

"Not really what I had in mind." Luke says softly, looking over his shoulder at the building next to them.

"W – What?" Clementine stammers, not understanding.

"We're gonna jump to the next roof." her older friend says softly. "It'll be okay."

 _"Y'know, when I was younger, me and my friends used to jump rooftops. Man, that was fun."_

 _"That sounds stupid." the eleven year old teases, looking down at her friend. Luke chuckles._

" _Yeah, it was. Trick was to not look down, though." as he says that, Clementine's foot slips on a rung and she nearly falls off. "Whoa, whoa! Hey, you're uh – You're okay, okay?" Clementine shuts her eyes, taking slow breaths. "Just uh... Take a quick look down, okay? Just a quick peek."_

 _"You just told me not to look!" the eleven year old shouts down to her friend, eyes jammed shut._

" _I know! Just trust me, okay?" Clementine breathes slowly for a few moments, before opening her eyes. She looks down at her friend, and a grin creeps onto her young face._

" _You know you look like an idiot?" she asks, her eyes dancing with laughter. Luke grins._

" _Climb the damn thing, will ya?" he laughs, leaning against the lower rungs._

"You told me it was stupid, back at the -" the nineteen year old shrieks, scared.

"Listen, kid, it's all we have!" he peeks over the edge, steeling his nerves. "Do you trust me?"

"Luke, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just -"

"Do you trust me?!" he urges, grabbing his friends forearms and facing her body towards his. She looks at the floor for a half second, before swinging her golden eyes up to him.

"I trust you." Clementine whispers, determined. Luke smiles.

"All right, kid." he looks to the lower roof. "It ain't a far jump."

"You go first, then." the nineteen year old says quickly. "So I can see you do it."

"Figured you'd say that." Luke mutters, looking towards the door. "You watch the door, okay?"

"Okay." she whispers, hoisting her shotgun over her shoulder and drawing her pistol.

The thirty-four year old man sighs as he looks to the next building, treading backwards slowly. He looks to his young friend, watching as she counts the ammo in her pistol as quickly as she can as the door buckles again. He shakes his head, focussing on the jump that awaits him. He's jumped further before, but that was when he was in his teens. Not thirty-four, and not weighed down by guns and a backpack filled with supplies. He shuts his eyes, breathing slowly.

"Just a little hop..." Luke mutters to himself, reassuring himself. He starts to run as fast as he can and, at the last second, he leaps forwards with the grace of an acrobat. His landing is less than graceful, however, landing on his front. He lets out a groan, pain flaring across his body, but he forgets that when he sees his young friend sizing up the jump.

Clementine whimpers at the prospect of leaping from one building to another. One of the boys in the years above her had tried to jump from their garage roof to the shed for a dare, but they hadn't made it. Horror stories and hearsay had flown around the school, tales of bloodied bodies and bones snapping in two. The poor little girl had nightmares about it for weeks after, and even now falling is one of her biggest fears. Clementine looks to the door, her shoulders sagging as yet another dent appears on the metal. She can't have long, now. She backs up a little further than Luke did, holstering her pistol hurriedly. She breathes shakily, unable to stop herself from playing out the worst case scenario in her head. Namely, of her plummeting to her untimely death outside a multi-story book store in a Georgian city.

"You got this, Clem!" Luke calls out. "Just a couple of scary seconds, then you're good!"

"I'm not five!" she shouts back, before starting her run. Her foot makes contact with the ledge, and that's when she jumps. She soars through the air, her hands snatching at the air to reach for the next roof. She clears her intended target, tumbling along the roof. She lands awkwardly, rolling over and coming to a painful stop.

"Holy – Nice work, kid!" Luke helps her to her feet. She smiles weakly, looking at the opposite roof. The walkers are staggering around on the rooftop, seemingly confused as to where their prey disappeared to. She winces, looking down at her hands.

"Ouch." she mumbles, staring at the cuts in her palms. Luke looks at the red marks for a moment.

"We'll clean 'em out, there's a load of gravel 'n shit on here."

"Sounds like a plan." the young woman mumbles, tilting her head at the group of walkers on the roof next to them. She lets out a relieved laugh, still not quite able to believe they made it. Luke smiles at his friend, slipping his backpack off and retrieving some medical supplies.

"This might sting a little, kid." Luke tells his friend as he stands, holding a strip of cloth soaked in antiseptic. Clementine nods slowly, gritting her teeth. The farm boy dabs her cuts with the cloth, the young woman letting out soft hisses of discomfort as the burning liquid makes contact with her skin.

"Just a bit." she says softly. Luke laughs, before raising the cut palm to look at it.

"Well, for a first jump that wasn't too bad."

"Thanks." the nineteen year old smiles wryly, looking around the roof they're on. "Is there any way we can get down from here, though?"

"Uh..." Luke looks over his shoulder, then back at his friend. "Maybe."

"Damn it, Luke." the young woman sighs. She peers over the edge, her stomach flipping at the sight of the long drop awaiting the two. She looks back towards her friend, leaning against the low wall acting as a balcony for the roof.

"Chin up, there'll be something."

"Maybe." she mutters, looking over her shoulder at the group of walkers stumbling around the roof. Some flop off the edge, plummeting to their second death in the gap between the two buildings. She sighs sadly, thinking of Lee. If she hadn't handcuffed him, one of those walkers could have been him.

"Here, Clem." Luke calls out, making his friend look towards him. "Told you there'd be something." he grins, opening a door leading to a stairwell. Clementine smiles, and follows her friend down the stairs of the apartment building. The two walk carefully and softly, wary of walkers sniffing them out, bursting out a door at random and killing the pair. Clementine watches their backs, Luke leading the way out of the apartment building. Every time they move towards the stairs at the end of a corridor, the two survivors pause and look around. The idea of being pincered by two walkers, one at the top and one at the bottom, is a terrifying one for the young woman. However, the two are making good progress.

At the front door, the two hesitate. Luke's hand grazes the doorknob while he peers out the window next to the heavy wooden door. Clementine raises her pistol slowly, breathing steadily as she aims at the entrance. The farm boy looks to his younger friend, a little nervous.

"Stick close." he murmurs. Nineteen year old Clementine nods, tensing herself. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"Okay..." Luke opens the door, looking up and down the street quickly. The walkers are still trying to break into the book store next to them. He looks to his young friend, who peers out the door next to him. "Now!"

The two survivors dart out, moving as quickly as they dare down the street. Clementine throws a worried glance behind her, her heart pounding in fear. The small herd crashes into the book store, and the young woman lets out a shocked gasp. Once they're around a corner, the two break into a run. Clementine sprints flat out next to her friend, her tiredness overruled by her will to survive.

* * *

Clementine sighs, looking across at her friend. The camp fire between the two is sizzling softly, the rain from the last night making the fire more smoke than flame. The tent is already packed up, bundled next to Luke's backpack. The two are prepared to leave, as soon as they're ready to brave the cruel world they live in again.

" _Look at this. It's pathetic." Christa mutters, clearly annoyed. She stokes the flames some more. "It's more smoke than flame."_

" _It's okay... I can wait." the eleven year old mumbles, looking up at her last friend from under her ever present cap. Christa snorts._

" _All we do is wait. And for what?"_

The nineteen year old props her chin on her hands, sighing as she watches the flames sputter out. She looks at her cut palm, smiling weakly at the memory of her leaping to safety. She feels a little proud of herself for conquering the odds, even if she had been scared shitless at the time. She flexes her fingers, a slight smile on her face as she hears her joints click. Luke looks at his younger friend, still looking slightly amazed that they're both still in one piece.

"You all right, Clem?" he asks quietly, stretching.

"Yeah." she smiles. "Are you?"

"Close enough to it." he chuckles. Clementine smiles, digging one of her fingers into the dirt in front of her. "D'you sleep all right?"

"I guess." she lies, looking back to the tent. She didn't sleep well, but she's never going to admit to that. Dreams of Lee breaking from his cuffs, digging his teeth into her flesh as she tries to help him. Her parents ripping her limb from limb, blood spurting everywhere and her screams being silenced by those who were meant to protect her. After seeing Lee as a walker in her nightmare, the young woman had sat up and hugged her knees, whispering to herself that she will be there soon.

"That's good. Don't want you to collapse on me." he says, his voice light and playful. Clementine lets out a soft 'heh' in agreement, looking back at the dirt in front of her.

 _Lee crashes to the floor, and Clementine tears her gaze away from her parents at the loud thud._

Clementine shakes her head quickly, shutting her eyes.

"Clem, you okay?" Luke's voice sounds distant. Clementine opens her eyes.

"Y – Yeah. Just thinking about Lee." she mumbles. Her friend chews his lip.

"Need to talk?" he asks quietly. Clementine shakes her head. "You sure?"

"Yeah, Luke."

The two lapse into silence, neither feeling up to talking. Clementine shuts her eyes again, recalling Lee's face with perfect clarity. His gentle smile, the so often raised eyebrow, the warmth her younger self would find in his eyes. She covers her face with her hands, blocking out the little light that was piercing her eyelids. Blackness envelopes her, and she massages her forehead with the tips of her fingers.

Luke just sighs, rubbing his jaw as he looks at his young friend. His only friend, now. A faint smile crosses his lips as he remembers getting to know her the first days they met, as they trekked through the forest for five days to get away from the cabin.

" _What was your favourite class, Clem?"  
_

 _"Um. Art?" she tilts her head as she tries to remember, frowning slightly. The frown gives way to a more happy expression. "What about you?"_

 _"Well uh – I took art history at college." he scratches his neck. Clementine smiles._

" _That's cool." she says, her tone genuine. Luke smiles at the little girl warmly._

" _Hah, thanks kid."_

How times change. The farm boy looks at the nineteen year old woman, watching as she moves her palms from her face. Her eyes flit up to him, and she gives him a weak smile. Luke returns it, looking at his backpack.

"What time is it?"

"Time you got a watch."

"Funny." Clementine mutters, linking her palms together before stretching. She stifles a yawn poorly as she lowers her hands, looking at her friend. "But really."

"Mornin'. We'll get out on the road soon." he smiles, as if reading the nineteen year old's mind. "Just gonna wake myself up a bit."

"Okay." she says, looking at her trainers. She reaches for her pistol and checks her ammo, cursing to herself as she counts only one in the gun. Clementine pulls the slide back, easing the magazine out of her gun and pushing a fresh one in. The young woman checks her pack for ammo, her heart sinking slightly at the sudden realisation.

"Luke?"

"Mm?" he looks at her with a smile.

"I don't have any more pistol bullets after this lot."

His smile fades from his face, being replaced with a worried glance at his friends gun.

"Shit." Luke mutters, looking at his assault rifle. "I don't have many for my rifle, either."

"Crap."

The two go back to silence again, looking at the smoke that inhabits where the fire had been just moments before. Clementine looks woebegone, unable to stop herself from wondering if they'll make it past Savannah. She feels guilty, like the lack of ammo is entirely her fault. The farm boy looks at his young friend, watching her as she stares at her pack for a few seconds.

"C'mon." Luke says, pushing himself to his feet. "We're a days travel from Savannah. Let's go help Lee." Clementine looks up as her friend says 'Lee', and she smiles.

"No more than a day, right?" she asks quietly, standing and hoisting her backpack onto her shoulders.

"No more than a day." Luke assures, pointing down a road. "That leads to a freeway. We follow that 'till we get near some train tracks, follow 'em down to Savannah."

"Okay, cool." the young woman looks convinced her friend is telling the truth.

Luke and Clementine start walking, the young woman looking behind them for walkers and the older man leading the two towards the freeway. The nineteen year old holds her shotgun tight in her hands, not wanting to use any pistol rounds unless she absolutely has to. The wind kicks up some gravel, and Clementine raises her arm to block her eyes from the potential onslaught. It never comes, however, and so the young woman lowers her arm again. She looks down at her palm for a few moments, wincing at the slightly glistening wounds that line her hand. It doesn't hurt any more, but she suspects there'll be marks there for a little while yet. Luke looks at the young woman as she chews her lip, staring at her palm. He smiles slightly.

"You'll be fine. You might get a scar but... Yeah."

"Okay." she hums, coiling and undulating her fingers before shifting her shotgun back into both her hands. She grimaces slightly at the feeling of her cut palm against the cold steel of the shotgun pump. Clementine breathes out slowly, looking tired. Bags are under her eyes, and her skin looks a little pale. Her golden eyes look a little droopy, the lost sleep from all her nightmares definitely starting to add up. Luke isn't looking much better, looking a little sickly as he walks. The two survivors, experienced and rugged though they are, aren't invincible. Sleep is a thing the two need, almost as much as they need food and water. And neither are particularly good at catching that elusive beast. Both have their own demons that attack at night.

Clementine is haunted by Lee and her parents, almost every night. The things she should have said to them before their deaths, the mercy she should have given to her friend.

" _Lee, please!" Clementine screams, kicking back the walker. Lee snarls and lunges at her again. "No no, Lee! Lee! Stop, you're hurting -" her screams are silenced by his teeth digging into her throat._

Those dreams are the worst for her. The group of the undead killing her, blood bursting in every direction. The young woman sighs, opening her eyes fully. She can't think about that. She has to focus, or else she'll never make it to Savannah.

Luke, on the other hand, is plagued with regrets for his fallen group. Nick, Pete, Rebecca, Alvin, Carlos, Sarah. Those poor souls that were snuffed out so quickly and cruelly, and he just had to sit back and watch. He would never admit these fears to Clementine – the last thing he wants is for her to be worrying about him on top of what she's worrying about – but they're a very real thing for him.

" _You feel bad." the eleven year old says quietly, cradling Alvin Junior a little closer to her in the biting cold. Luke smiles weakly, leaning up against a gnarled tree._

" _I guess, kid." he mutters, shutting his eyes. Nick's death plays before him in his minds eye, and he opens them again with a quiet sigh.  
_

 _"What are you thinking about?"  
_

 _"Nothin', Clem, don't worry about it."_

Even at such a young age, Clementine had been observant. She picked up on things that most adults would miss. She attributed it to what Lee and her friend Christa had taught her, but the farm boy always thinks that the young woman is just naturally smart. This trait has continued into the present day – she's quick at coming up with plans, at finding a way out of a sticky situation.

The two survivors look towards each other again, and Luke flashes her a warm smile. Clementine returns it after a moment, before looking behind her. She looks back at her friend.

"What do you think that noise was, yesterday?"

"What d'you mean, Clem?" Luke looks over, confused.

"I mean the noise by the road."

"Walkers, probably."

"I don't think so. It moved away from us." Luke regards her silently as she expands on this theory. "If it were a walker, it would have joined that group that attacked the book store. But it didn't."

"Well, I can't think of anything."

"You don't think it's a bandit, right?"

"No, no. Probably just a fox or something." Luke assures her. Ever the sceptic, the nineteen year old raises an eyebrow at her friend.

"They live here?"

"Coyote, then." he shrugs. "It'll be fine, kid. I promise."

"Like you promised I'd get a car for my eighteenth birthday?" she huffs, evidently still sore about it.

"Never said it'd be a working car, kid. Shoulda been clearer." Luke chuckles as the two wander down the freeway. Clementine rolls her eyes, her trademark gesture whenever her friend says something that's, in her opinion, dumb.

"You knew what I meant." is all she says, shaking her head with a slight smile.

Though she pokes fun at him a lot, Clementine doesn't want to think about having to survive without her best, and only, friend. After losing everyone else, a younger Clementine kept expecting him to drop dead every time they went out on a supply run. However, it hasn't happened. At least not yet. The young woman is reluctant to admit how dependant she is on her friend, scared to show weakness. She gets the feeling that he knows, though. Just like she knows he relies on her a little more than he'd care to admit.

The freeway is cracked, abandoned cars lining the roads. It would be impossible to use one, even if they _did_ have fuel, owing to the make shift blockade of cars all around them. The young woman looks at the cars, her heart sinking at the idea of all those poor souls abandoning their cars as the first walkers started to appear, the rotten smell of decay and their hellish moans being the last things many smelled or heard. Luke is clearly thinking similarly, judging by his sombre facial expression.

Clementine shifts her gun in her hands, her arms starting to ache from holding it tight for so long. Her shoulders burn from her backpack digging into them, but she ignores the discomfort. Staying focussed on getting to Savannah is her only goal, right now. They're getting so close to it, now. It's odd, how some things stay the same.

" _How close are we to Savannah, Lee?" nine year old Clementine asks softly, tilting her head. Lee chuckles, looking down at the tracks._

" _I dunno, sweet pea. We're not far though. I promise."_

Strange to think that was ten years ago. Back when she thought the walkers would be stopped by the army or the police, and her and her parents would be reunited in Savannah. Back when she thought Lee would be with her, through thick and thin, even after the walkers were gone.

" _I'm sorry, Clementine. I'm supposed to take care of you. I can't now." he whispers._

" _I know!" little Clementine gasps._

" _But you're going to be okay." Lee mutters determinedly. He looks up at her, smiling weakly. "You are going to be okay. We just have to think, and work together."_

The nineteen year old looks at the floor as she walks, feeling guilt rear in her all over. Lee was the only one of his family to not die in Macon. That little detail bothers the young woman, for a reason she can't figure out. Maybe it's the idea that he's now a living, rotting body, straining to break free from his restraints to feast on the living, while the rest of his family has been laid to rest.

" _Do you miss your family, Lee?" Clementine asks meekly, cuddling up to her guardian in the RV. He sighs deeply, nodding._

" _Of course, Clem. I ..." he swallows. "I miss them all. We didn't get along, but … Yeah."_

" _Are they … Um … Gone?" she squeaks out the last word. Lee nods sadly._

" _Yeah." is all he says, looking back out the window. He smiles after a few moments, and looks back at the nine year old. "I'm glad I have you, though."  
_

 _"Me, too." she smiles, nuzzling up to Lee a little more. She feels safe near him. Nothing will hurt her, as long as she has Lee._

Clementine reflects on her and Luke's journeys together as they walk, looking at her brown haired companion with a look of gratitude. Her older friend misses that, however, too focussed on watching their route for walker activity. The young woman throws a glance over her shoulder, double checking to see if anything is following them.

Nothing.

Satisfied they're not being pursued, Clementine quickens her pace so that she's walking next to her friend, rather than a little behind him.

"Anything ahead?"

"Nah. Nothing but one helluva long road." Luke says wryly, looking at his friend with a smile.

"Well, that's good." she smiles back, squinting into the distance. Savannah's still not on the horizon.

"Better than the alternative."

"Yeah." she nods. "That's true."

Clementine thinks back to the previous morning, when the two had fled through the book store. The group of walkers there had been huge. The nineteen year old can't shake the feeling that a herd is building, and soon it would be at full strength. Clementine isn't entirely sure the two survivors are ready to face off another herd of the undead, or even sneak through. It was taxing, to walk among corpses. To feel a punch in the gut every time one of them realises that these were once _people._ People with thoughts, dreams, hopes and emotions. And to see them as just another walker, a dumb animal, it can hurt.

Especially when the young woman makes the connection between walkers and Lee.

Luke doesn't seem concerned about a herd though. He just seems to see them as another hurdle that the two will take a flying leap over – though they had only done that the once, yesterday – and they'll walk away unscathed. The two understand better than most the essence of mortality. They understand fully that every time they wake up may be their last in this cruel world. And yet, this understanding doesn't brim the farm boys optimism.

He flicks his eyes up as he hears a soft groan, and looks at Clementine. He raises an eyebrow, expecting to see her doubled over in pain. However, she's standing stock still also. Clementine's mirroring his expression of confusion. Luke raises his assault rifle, the calm around them shattered. Clementine swings her shotgun over her shoulders, drawing her knife in a quick motion. She turns on the spot, watching every direction for motion.

From underneath several cars, walkers stagger to their feet. Clementine's heart sinks, her heart in her mouth as the undead raise all around them. She backs up slowly, flinching and twisting suddenly as she bumps into something. Luke is back to back with her.

"Shit. We're surrounded." Luke croaks, the greying corpses stumbling towards them. The freeway is too high up for them to leap to a lower level, at least not without breaking a bone. The cars aren't high enough for them to hide on top of, at least not for long. Clementine looks around quickly, adrenaline coursing through her like electricity. She starts counting the walkers, but quickly loses count from the sheer amount of them.

"What do we do, what do we do?" Clementine whispers desperately, walking backwards slowly. Luke grimaces, checking the ammunition in his rifle's magazine. He makes out twenty three, and he looks back at the walkers with a squint.

"Well, we ain't runnin' that way." Luke mutters, raising his gun. Clementine draws her shotgun again, raising the heavy weapon to her shoulder. "Make each shot count, kid."

She doesn't make a wry comment back, instead taking a deep, slow, breath. She fires her shotgun at the nearest walker, pumping a fresh round in. It's head explodes, blood flying in every direction. The tar-coloured liquid splatters her jacket, and she can't help but cringe slightly. _Five._ She swallows, watching as Luke fires his rifle off twice. Both bullets hit a walker's chest, and Luke swears. Clementine fires at his intended target, the shotgun round splattering the walkers brains against a white pick up.

" _So... Gross..." she whimpers as Lee smears guts over her. Lee sighs sadly._

" _Yeah, I know, sweetie."_

"How many are there?" she croaks, the walkers getting closer. The loud noises have angered the walkers, and they're quickening their pace from a lazy shamble to a hungry lunge.

"Uh... Twenty?"

"Twenty?!" she whimpers, looking back at the large group. Luke nods, raising his rifle and firing again. This time, his targets hit the walker's skulls. Three of them collapse, from four of Luke's bullets. "We're going to get surrounded!" she twists behind her, seeing more walkers closing in behind them. "We have to go!"

"Clem, we're -"

"We'll just push past them, there aren't too many behind us!" Luke raises his rifle again at the walkers in front of them, but his features fall. He shuts his eyes for a moment, before looking at his young friend.

"I hope you're right about this." the two twist on the spot and start running towards the walkers closing in behind them. Clementine raises her shotgun and fires at the closest. An overweight man, dressed in casual clothes. The shell punctures the walker's chest, making it stumble. The nineteen year old shoves it over, running as fast as she can. Luke sprints next to her, pushing another walker out of their way.

"Fuck, more of them!" Clementine yells, panic starting to properly set in as the situation goes from bleak to borderline hopeless. Luke looks behind him, watching as the walkers get closer. "Shit!"

"Clem, it'll be okay!" the farm boy says quickly, looking around for a way out. A four door car with the front right door wide open makes a half baked idea appear in his mind.

Best kind of idea, in his opinion.

"Follow me!" he urges, grabbing the young woman's arm and tugging her towards the abandoned vehicle. He ducks into the drivers seat and Clementine darts in next to him. She slams the door shut, breathing hard as the walkers smear themselves against the door. They pound and smash against the vehicle, trying to tear the metal vehicle open.

"Now wh -" Clementine is interrupted by a hand grabbing her shoulder. She cries out, grabbing her knife and plunging it into the mottled hand. She twists the blade, trying to pry the hand from the arm it's attached to. A walker's groan is heard as she yanks the blade out, twisting in her seat and raising the knife again. A walker is stuck in it's seat by a seat belt, retching and snarling furiously.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Luke roars, hefting his rifle into a firing position and firing at the walker in the back seat. It crashes backwards in the seat, blood pouring down it's forehead.

"Oh my God." Clementine breathes, settling herself. She looks out the window, her chest heaving as the walkers snarling noises become louder, a rotten palm slamming against the window.

"Shit, kid, you okay?" Luke asks gently, taking a moment to calm himself. She nods quickly, jamming her eyes shut as she breathes heavily. "Clem?" his voice grows distant as Clementine scrunches eyes shut even more, trying to think of happier times.

" _There was that thing in the bathroom, it tried to get me." she whispers. Lee nods, crouching in front of her. He looks sorry for the little girl, and smiles weakly._

" _I know, Clem."  
_

 _"But you stopped it!" the eight year old continues, looking awestruck at the man's bravery._

" _Yeah, I did." he nods, now looking a little proud._

" _Can you... Can you do that more?" she steps a little closer to him. Lee chuckles, looking at the floor for a few moments._

" _I'm not gonna go looking for them."_

" _I mean, get the dangerous ones."  
_

 _"I'm going to try." he promises her, a look of warmth in his eyes._

"Clem? Clem!" Luke's voice brings her out of her trance like state, and she opens her eyes.

"Wh – Luke?"

"Are you okay?" he asks quickly, checking his pistol.

"Y – Yeah, yeah." she croaks, looking at the walkers that have surrounded the car. She shrinks back in her seat slightly, fear in her eyes.

"Okay, well." Luke pushes a magazine into his pistol, looking around the car slowly. He chews on his words for a few seconds. "This'll hold against 'em for a little bit, but uh..." one walker is slamming the back of the car incessantly, making the car rock slightly. "Not long."

"We're surrounded." she mumbles, looking to her friend. "Aren't we?"

"I..." Luke swallows, looking across at his young friend. "Pretty much."

"What was your plan, again?"

"Thought it might have fuel." he admits sheepishly after a few moments.

"Does it?" Clementine ask softly, shutting her eyes and leaning back in her seat.

"Nah, empty tank."

"Figures." a soft chuckle leaves her lips despite it all, and she looks at her friend. "At least we're comfy." Luke laughs gently, looking out the window. Even though he feels completely hopeless, he can't help but laugh with her as they come to the conclusion this is probably the end for them. It goes unsaid, but they both know it deep down. And maybe not even that deep.

"You, maybe. My seat's got a spring through it, goes right up my -"

"I don't want to know." the nineteen year old laughs weakly. She reaches into her pocket and looks at the picture of Lee, a sad smile on her face.

"I'm really sorry, Clem." he tells his friend gently, looking guilty.

"It's not your fault." Clementine assures him, a few tears running down her cheeks as she looks at the worn out picture of her old guardian. A walker's loud shriek makes the young woman turn in her seat, watching as it tears at the trunk.

"We got a few minutes." Luke mutters. "And then..."

"Yeah." her eyes flit to the window near her again, smiling sadly at the walker clawing at the glass.

She can't help but wonder if Lee felt like this, just before he died. Not angry, or frustrated, or upset. Just relaxed, and maybe a little scared. She wonders if death will hurt as much as her nightmares make it out to be, or if it will just be a moment of discomfort and then nothing. She looks at Luke, who looks completely calm. He has his eyes closed, looking like he's thinking of something. Clementine doesn't disturb him, however, and instead leans back in her seat. She shuts her eyes, breathing calmly. _I'm coming, Lee..._

The crack of a gunshot makes Clementine jump. Her eyes fly open and she twists quickly in her seat, almost cricking her neck from the sudden motion. She looks over at Luke, scared for a moment he's given up like so many other survivors. However, he's looking around as well.

"The fuck was that?" Luke croaks.

"A gun." Clementine observes, her heart pounding. The walkers twist away, baring their teeth at the gunshot. The gun fires again, making the walkers start to stagger away from the car. The nineteen year old holds her breath, hardly believing her eyes. Luke looks to his friend, looking delighted.

"Run?" he asks, grinning. Clementine laughs, borderline ecstatic.

"Run!" she agrees, flinging the door open and racing away from the walkers. Luke races next to her, looking delighted. The two run next to each other, pounding down the freeway as quickly as they can.

The young woman is so aware of how wonderful it is to be alive as she runs. The feeling of her heart pounding in her chest, the fresh air filling her lungs. Everything about being a human being makes her delighted, she realises with a laugh.

The laugh dies in her throat when a bullet pierces Luke's leg, making him crash to the floor.

She skids to a halt, running back to her friend. _No. No! Not again!_ She stumbles next to him as he sits up, crying out in pain. She crouches next to him, the euphoria she was feeling crashing and burning as she feels the all too familiar feeling of fear rearing it's ugly head.

"Luke, Luke! Are you okay?" Clementine gasps, looking at the bullet hole in his thigh. A bullet lies a little further down the freeway, blood trailing down the road after it. Her heart is in her mouth as she looks at her friend, who has suddenly gone quite pale.

"Fuck! I – Yeah, I'll be good. I'll be – Argh!" he cries out as he tries to stand. Clementine shushes him quickly, wary of walkers hearing the cries of a wounded survivor. She puts her backpack down and rummages around, withdrawing a length of bandages after a few seconds.

"Here, let me." Clementine ties the bandage tight around the farm boys wound, looking up at him quickly. She loops it around a few times, eager to make sure the blood is soaked up by the white cloth. "Are you okay?" she looks into her older friend's eyes, so it'll be harder for him to bullshit her.

"It hurts like hell but … Gah-ha! Damn it." he lets out some shaky breaths, trying to calm himself. "I think I'll be okay, give me a hand up – Clem?" the young woman is looking away, breathing slowly. She's squinting towards the direction the two came from, picking out a figure in a denim jacket striding towards them. Blood is all over their clothes, soaking them through. A walker moans hungrily as it reaches out towards the mysterious figure, and the person shoots it through the head with their pistol without even checking their aim. As the person gets closer, Clementine's eyes widen in recognition.

"No... No no no." she whispers, her breath shortening and hitching in the back of her throat.

"Wh – Clem, are you okay?" Luke looks at her, watching as she goes deathly pale.

"It's..." the figure raises his gun at the two, looking delighted at his "catch".

"Hey there, Clementine." the man drawls under his cap, grinning maliciously. Luke's eyes widen too, as he recognises the man from the hospital.

"H – Hello, Nate."

* * *

Clementine is crouching next to Luke, her hands raised to her shoulders. Luke is regarding Nate with an air of caution. Nate has his pistol trained on the two, a rabid look in his eyes.

"I found out what happened to the guys I was with." he starts, his eyes boring into the nineteen year old's. She sighs quietly, the guilt from killing Rowan flooding back to her.

"I'm sorry." Clementine says softly, looking down at the floor.

" _Then we came back. And all our stuff was gone. Your people, Lee! That asshole in the ball cap. His stupid fucking wife! I could've earned her trust back if our situation wasn't so desperate." Clementine is listening to the stranger and Lee talk through the door she's locked in, while she fiddles with the lock._

" _I'm sorry."_

"No, you aren't. But you will be." Clementine looks at him, her eyes widening. "I'm guessin' your boyfriend killed most of 'em."

"I'm not her -" Luke starts, angry.

"I wasn't talkin' to you!" Nate snaps, before looking back to Clementine.

"W – We both killed the people in the hospital." Clementine whispers. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean – I – I didn't _want_ to kill Rowan!"

"We was a prick anyway, fuckin' asshole." the deranged bandit mutters to himself, looking angry. "Boss _me_ around? Fucker." Clementine watches him rant to himself in this vein for some time, looking angrily at the floor. He gesticulates with his pistol, evidently pissed off. Clementine keeps calm, watching his pistol with wide eyes. She looks across at Luke, who looks pointedly at a car they can use for cover just to their right. The young woman nods her understanding, looking back at Nate.

"You put up a good fight, I'll admit." Nate commends the young woman. "Never had someone run away, before. Usually, they just get ready for what's comin'." he licks his lips, smiling fondly, revealing discoloured crooked teeth. "But you?" he treads towards Clementine, who sucks in her breath as the burning smell she's encountered so often the last couple of days meets her nose. "You made us work for it, and then you have the fuckin' nerve to kill four of my friends."

"You killed one of them, you can't have been that close." the nineteen year old says boldly. Nate laughs, nodding slightly. He rubs his stubble-ridden chin as his cackles subside.

"S'pose that's true, kiddie." he chuckles. "But _you_ still shot survivors."

"I shot a bandit." Clementine says lowly, angry.

"What's the difference?" he leers, crouching in front of the young woman.

"You steal from innocent people." she says softly, glowering at the middle aged bandit. Nate clearly doesn't appreciate that comment, leaning in closer.

"I guess so. But while you ride around on your high horse, all high 'n mighty, _you_ still scavenge. Ain't that similar to stealing?"

"Yeah, but -"

"And think of all the little kids who starved because of _you_ and your – Whoever the fuck this guy is." he gestures to Luke angrily with his pistol, who bites his retort back.

 _Clementine sighs weakly, watching the starving form of a walker child reach out towards her hungrily. She sniffles, raising her pistol._

" _I'm really sorry." she takes a deep breath, before crashing her finger down on the trigger of her pistol._

"I'm sorry for killing Rowan." she apologises to the man softly, looking up at Nate.

"Sorry don't mean shit, kid."

" _We did come back. I said WE DID COME BACK!" the stranger shouts, furious._

" _Look, what do you want me to say?" Lee whispers, his voice angry._

" _I don't want you to SAY anything. I just want you to listen."_

"What do you want me to say?" Nate scoffs as Clementine says that.

"You killed my fuckin' friends, what d'you think you should say?"

"I – I don't know." she mumbles, bowing her head.

"What if I killed your boyfriend here and -" Nate starts, raising his pistol at Luke's forehead.

"Please, don't!" Clementine gasps, shifting in front of him. "Please!"

"I think I might just, y'know? Teach you a fuckin' lesson!"

"I'll do anything." the young woman croaks. "Please, he's – he's all I have left!"

"I don't give a shit. You killed my friends for no good reas -"

"You guys chased her through a hospital!" Luke shouts, his temper flaring. "What would you have done?"

"Last fuckin' chance. I'm not gonna tell you to shut your fuckin' mouth again." Nate snarls at the man, his bloodshot eyes alive with rage. The look on Nate's face makes Luke go still, swallowing down his fear.

"H – How did you find us?" Clementine asks softly, worried.

" _How could you know all this?"_ _Lee asks, his voice hoarse. Clementine feels a twinge of guilt._

"Got lucky." Nate shrugs. "Truck broke down, saw you shit heads drive _right_ past me. Followed ya from there." he glowers at the two survivors.

"Were … Were you watching us when the walkers came into Statesboro?"

"Yup." Nate sounds almost bored. "Heard you two freakin' out as the dead heads came over, didn't want to get caught up in that shit storm."

"Why did you get caught up in the one Luke and I were just in, then? With the car?"

"Didn't want 'em getting you 'fore I could have my fun." he chuckles, picking his teeth with his long, dirty nails.

"F – Fun?" her skin crawls as she asks, shaking with fear.

"Mmm." he hums, running his eyes up and down the young woman. "A _lot_ of fun." Clementine sucks her breath in, shaking in trepidation. She's not sure she wants to know what he means. "But, y'know, that'll come." Clementine inches backwards as Nate twists away, pacing around. "God!" The young woman goes silent, not wanting to make the man any more annoyed than he clearly already is. However, as he rambles on, Clementine comes to the conclusion that letting the man work himself up into a blinding rage is only going to get them killed.

"N – Nate?"

"The fuck d'you want?" the bandit snaps.

"Can't we talk about this?" Clementine asks meekly.

" _Hold it asshole!"  
_

 _"Take it easy!" Lee urges. "Let's talk about this! It was – It was a mix-up! We'll make it worth your while!" his eyes flit worriedly to Clementine, who has a gun aimed at her head. She's whimpering loudly, scared of getting killed._

" _I'm listenin'." the bandit says slowly._

" _Whatever it takes to reach a deal, you got it!"  
_

 _"Twice as much as you been givin' us." the bandit snaps, frowning from behind his ski mask.  
_

 _"Done!" Lee assures with a little shrug, smiling widely._

"What's to talk about?" Nate says coldly. "I'm gonna shoot this fuckin' guy -" he points at Luke, his tone aggressive. "Have my way with _you_ -" he swivels his finger to the young woman, who finds herself wincing. "And then leave ya for the dead heads."

"You don't have to -"

"Do this? Ya said that at the hospital. My answer hasn't changed, shit-for-brains."

"But -" she tries one more time, her shoulders slumping.

"Shut your fuckin' mouth." he demands. Nate shuts his eyes for a moment, treading back on his heel. He takes a few deep breaths, before leaning towards Luke. "You're a lucky fuckin' guy, havin' some tail like _that_ with you." Nate leers at Clementine, and Luke scowls. "But I don't like sharing." he swings his gun up, tilting his head. "So... Guess this is it for you."

The gun clicks, and the bandit grins from ear to ear. His eyes are wide with delight.

Luke is breathing heavily, fear on his face. He's accepted what's going to happen.

 _No._

All the young woman can think of is to protect her friend. So that's what she does.

Clementine pushes herself to her feet and barges into Nate shoulder first, making him stumble. His gun fires off as it clatters into the floor, making the nineteen year old jump slightly.

"You little fuckin' whore!" Nate roars, swinging at Clementine. She ducks his punch and cracks him across the jaw. Nate swears, toppling backwards, before drawing a revolver from his jeans.

"Clem, get down!" Luke roars, grabbing his rifle and aiming over the hood of the car. Clementine throws herself behind the car pointed out minutes earlier, vaulting over the hood and landing on her hands and knees. The bark of the assault rifle sounds loudly over the boom of the revolver, and for a few moments the nineteen year old cups her hands over her ears. She feels like a small child again.

" _It's okay, Clem! Just stay down!" Lee yells, twisting out of cover and firing at the bandits._

" _I'm scared!" she screams, bullets pinging all around her._

She peeks over the car, holding her pistol in both hands and looking for the bandit. Her heart is in her mouth, practically feeling the blood racing through her veins. Nate is taking cover, firing off his revolver every few seconds. Luke is crouched behind the car next to Clementine, firing bursts from his assault rifle at the crazed bandit to keep him down. Clementine pops out of cover and lets off two bullets from her pistol, making Nate swear loudly as he ducks back into cover. Clementine sucks in her breath, ducking her head low so he can't see her. She makes sure he can't see her hat, looking across to Luke.

"Stay down, Clem!" he urges.

"Yeah, Clem!" Nate yells sarcastically, putting on a sing song voice, firing his revolver at the car Clementine is behind. "Stay down, or big bad Nate will get ya!" the young woman takes some deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She twists out of cover and fires at the bandit again, forcing him to get down behind the abandoned car again.

"Nice shot." Luke whispers, raising his assault rifle.

"Gah, you – I'm gonna rip out your guts and shove 'em down your throat!" Nate screams, sounding utterly livid. Clementine hears the revolver reloading quickly, the cylinder clicking loudly as shells are slammed into the chambers. She looks to Luke, who pops out and fires his assault rifle at the car. Nate swears foully, waiting for a moment before lunging out of cover and firing his revolver wildly. The recoil jerks the gun high, several of the bullets pinging against the hood of the car. The headlights on the car Clementine is hiding behind break, glass shattering in every direction. Luke stands again, making to fire his assault rifle at the bandit. The gun clicks and Luke slumps down, cursing.

"Just walk away!" Clementine begs the bandit. "I don't want to hurt you, but I _will_!"

"You think you're tough shit, you fucking bitch?! You ain't shit!" he bellows as Luke reloads. Nate strides towards the pair, firing two more rounds from his revolver to suppress the pair of survivors.

Clementine tenses herself, waiting for Nate to get a little closer. As the lunatic rounds the corner, silver weapon raised, Clementine pushes herself at him again. She grabs the man's wrist and twists it up towards the sky. The gun lets off a deafening gunshot, making the nineteen year old flinch slightly. Nate punches the young woman in the gut, and she gasps for air. He grabs Clementine's wrist and snatches her gun out her hands. Luke gasps and lunges at the bandit, shoving him to the floor. Nate rips the bandage off of Luke's wound, before digging his fingers into the bullet hole. Luke howls in pain, tears in his eyes as the bandit writhes his hands in the wound. Clementine flings herself at Nate, spear tackling him to the floor. Nate kicks Clementine, and she stumbles off him for a moment. She punches him in the face, and he slams against the guard rail lining the freeway.

"You fucking -" Clementine knees him in the stomach, before elbowing him in the ribs. Nate snarls, grabbing her by the waist and whirling her to the floor. Clementine lands hard, rolling over and snatching up her pistol. She aims it at him and pulls the trigger.

Nate ducks as she fires, before shoving into her. The two fight for the gun, punching and kicking each other as they reach for it.

 _Lee races after the stranger as he runs for the gun, towering over him._

Luke grabs Nate by the ankle and gives him a hard pull. Nate lands on his chin, making him grunt in pain. Clementine fumbles the gun as she makes to pick it up, knocking it towards Luke. The farm boy gasps and reaches for it, and Nate does the same. Clementine pushes herself to her feet and kicks him across the jaw, making the lunatic bandit fly backwards. Nate lands with a horrible thump against the guard rail again. He pushes himself to his feet as the nineteen year old races towards him. He plants his feet and swings his fist at her as she gets close. Clementine grabs his wrist and pushes it away, punching him as hard as she can in the chest. He gasps and punches her across the face, making her fall backwards in pain.

She feels a bruise begin to form as she pushes away from the man, shaking in fear. The bandit advances on her, grinning down at her with a sick look of excitement on his face. Clementine kicks his hand away as he reaches out to her, making him hiss in pain. The bandit grabs her by the ankle and pulls her towards him. Clementine cries out, kicking him in the chest with her other foot.

"Stop fucking kicking me!" he bellows, grabbing her by the throat. The nineteen year old gasps for air, his fingers too tight around her neck.

" _GOD! Stop fucking kicking!" the bearded man snarls, pinning the eleven year old by her wrists. She cries out in fear and kicks him hard again towards a walker, adrenaline and fear mixing into a confusing cocktail in the little girl's mind._

Clementine lets out a gasping breath, her vision starting to darken at the crushing of her windpipe. The crack of a gunshot makes Clementine jolt in surprise, and the fingers around her neck slacken.

Nate topples over, blood trickling down his leg. He screams in pain.

"What the fuck -" Nate starts, horror in his eyes as he looks at the gunshot wound. Clementine lets out a yell of anger and lunges at the man, standing over him. Nate looks up at the young woman, surprised. She pins him with her knee, digging it as hard as she can into his chest.

 _Lee pins Andy with his legs, shaking with poorly suppressed rage._

Clementine lets out a battle cry and slams her fist into the man's face, punching him over and over.

 _He swings his fist into Andy, letting out a roar of fury. His fist crashes into him, over and over._

Tears rush down her face as she punches him again, and again, and again. All her anger towards him, the guilt that's been haunting her ever since she shot Rowan, propels her to keep beating the man. Luke stumbles to his feet, blood trickling down his leg. He places a hand on his young companion's shoulder, a soft look on his face. For a few moments, Clementine ignores him, continuing to beat the man into the floor with her bare fists.

"He's not worth it, kid." Luke tells her softly, crouching next to her. Clementine pants, looking over at him. Tears rush down her cheeks, sweat beading down her forehead in a constant stream. She looks down at Nate under her hat, then back up at her friend. Luke raises his friend's pistol significantly. Clementine's eyes are wide as she looks at the muzzle of her weapon.

"Gah hah..." Nate laughs, coughing up blood. Clementine glowers back at him. "You fuggin' bish..."

"Shut _up_." she says, her voice cold and hard. She stands up slowly, backing away from the bandit. Luke stands also, training his pistol on the bandit. Nate sits up slightly, massaging his jaw. Luke looks at his young friend, who's crying quietly.

"We can't let him leave." he tells her softly, so Nate can't hear them.

"I know, I know." she breathes, wiping her eyes. "But I – I can't." Luke nods slowly.

"That's okay." he murmurs. Nate claws at the ground, reaching for his revolver. Clementine kicks it down the freeway, the noise clattering down the road eerily.

"You dun have the fuggin' guts!" Nate goads as Luke raises the gun, blood trickling down his face. His jaw is out of place from the young woman's onslaught and Clementine turns away. She looks back down the freeway, where they came from, and spots walkers closing in. Luke turns to his friend, pistol pointed at Nate.

"You don't have to look." Luke tells his young friend, his eyes wide.

"Yes, I do." she says, her voice hard as she looks at Nate with narrow eyes. Luke sighs, closing his eyes for a moment. He opens his eyes, takes a quick breath, and pulls the trigger. The bandit crunches into the floor, the bullet impacting his forehead. Clementine lets out a shaky breath, looking at the dead form of the terrifying bandit. He looks angry in his death, the complete opposite of Lee. Clementine breathes in and out rhythmically, calming herself down. Death is always scary for the young woman, even after ten years of seeing it almost every day.

"Let's keep going." Luke says quietly, touching his friend's shoulder. Clementine nods slowly.

"Yeah, that's um... That sounds good." she mumbles. "But … Maybe we should check him."

"Check him?" Luke echoes. Clementine looks at Luke patiently, miserable. The penny seems to drop, and he looks back at the dead bandit with slumped shoulders. "Ah." he crouches slowly, looking the bandit over. He's not wearing a backpack, so searching him will just be a brief formality. Clementine looks down the freeway, spotting Nate's revolver as the sunlight glints off the steel. She draws her pistol and slips down the road quickly, watching out for walkers as she scoops up the heavy pistol. The young woman walks back towards her friend, who is holding up a red and white cardboard box. She tilts her head, and Luke rattles the box. A rustling sound is heard inside

"Bullets for his gun." Luke says softly. Clementine nods. "That his gun?" she nods again. "You okay?" Clementine takes a breath, thinking for a few moments.

She shakes her head, her gaze going back to Nate.

"Doesn't get easier, does it?"

"Probably for the best that it doesn't." he reasons gently.

"Anything else on his body?"

"Nothin' that'll help us – some drugs, bottle of whiskey..." he sighs. The walkers staggering down the freeway are getting closer, and both survivors are fully aware this time. "C'mon, kid, let's get."

 _"C'mon kid, we gotta get!" Luke urges, picking up the eleven year old. She whimpers in pain, the dog bite burning all over again. She finds herself cuddling into the man's arms, realising how lonely she had been feeling until the two men arrived. She looks up at the brown haired man, everything blurry as he runs from the walkers._

"Yeah." she hands Luke the revolver, and he hands her pistol back to her.

"Shouldn't be too far from Savannah, now." he murmurs. "We lost a lot of daylight, though."

"We can make it." Clementine says softly, the two walking down the freeway quickly to evade the walkers. She looks over her shoulder, the dead body of the bandit luring the attention of the walkers for a precious few moments. She tears her gaze away as the disgusting sound of them feeding reaches their ears. Clementine looks down at Luke's wound, which she notices has a shoddy bandage on it. Luke follows her gaze.

"Did it while you grabbed the gun." he tells her quickly, smiling.

"Ah." she mutters, peering up the freeway.

The last couple of days has been hell for the young woman. She reflects on when it first started going terribly, when the two had raided the hospital. After she shot Rowan. Looking back on it, she would do almost anything to go back in time and not go there. Then the bandit's wouldn't have chased her through that hell hole, and she wouldn't have shot someone. And then Nate wouldn't have come after them, and tried to kill Luke. Clementine sighs sadly, feeling a few tears trickle down her cheeks. She wipes them quickly, sniffling slightly as she tries to hold back the tears.

Luke looks over at his friend as he hears her crying quietly, not sure what to say. She's a tough one to read, that's for sure.

Yet another person that can kick his ass at poker, despite learning _from_ him.

" _You really suck at this." a sixteen year old Clementine laughs, leaning back in her chair. Luke looks at his young friend, unable to stay frustrated after seeing the delighted look on her face._

" _Yeah yeah, kid." he rolls his eyes, watching as she takes the chocolate bar they were gambling over. She grins from ear to ear, unwrapping the chocolate and taking a luxurious bite out of the delicacy._

" _Wow, you're missing out!" she teases, grinning like the Cheshire Cat._

Sometimes she wants Luke to ask if she's okay, whereas sometimes she just wants to be left alone. He catches a look at her face, how she's chewing her lip and trying to maintain a straight face. He comes to the conclusion that's the face of someone who doesn't want to be coddled, but rather left to face the demons she's battling on her own. He throws the briefest of glances over his shoulder, a grim look of satisfaction on his face at the sight of the walkers devouring the dead body of their pursuer.

Clementine quickens her pace, desperate to get away from the nightmarish spectacle. Though she hated Nate while he was alive, she doesn't want to sit around and watch the undead devour his body. She wouldn't wish that on anyone. After watching Carver get mutilated by a group of walkers when she was only eleven years old, just the very idea of walkers feeding on a corpse makes her skin crawl. She looks across at her friend briefly, tilting her head slightly as she wonders if Luke thinks similarly. Though judging from his hardened glower at the mauling, maybe not.

She shuts her eyes, remember vividly walking down the forest trail away from the Saint John dairy.

" _Come on Clementine, try and keep up." Lee asks of her patiently, smiling faintly at the small child._

" _Lee. Are those bad people dead?" the eight year old asks meekly, looking up at her friend. Lee sighs as he crouches in front of the little girl._

" _We didn't kill them, so I don't know. They might have been able to get away from the walkers, but I don't think they'll be coming after us, okay?" he smiles._

" _Okay. That's good." she nuzzles up to him, and Lee hugs her._

How different is then from now? Both times she has turned her back on bad people, who have been left to the walkers. She feels miserable, all the way into her stomach. It nests in her gut, making her stare down at the floor as they trek together in silence.

The minutes stretch to hours, the sun dawdling as it begins it's lazy descent over the horizon. The low sun throws the road the two survivors are walking down into darkness. The sun looks almost red as it submerges behind the hills in the distance, proving an eerie sight for the two survivors. They look like two silhouettes as they continue their journey, their task almost at an end.

Luke nudges his young friend as he realises where they are, making her look over.

"We're close to the train tracks." Luke tells Clementine, who smiles for the first time since Luke had been shot through the leg. He moves with a slight limp, but otherwise he doesn't seem too concerned about the painful looking wound.

"Are you okay, Luke?"

"I'll be fine, kiddo." he smiles weakly. "Might need to sit down when we're at Savannah but uh... Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Okay, cool." she pauses for a moment. "If you need to lean on me, you can say."

" _I got you! You can lean on me if you have to." Clementine whispers to Lee through her tears._

" _I'm okay... I'm okay..." Lee mutters, more to himself than anything, catching his breath.  
_

 _"I – I thought I was helping, by bringing you in here."_

" _Oh, you did honey. It was terrible out there. They woulda chewed me up." he croaks._

" _It was hard."  
_

 _"I dunno how you did it, but you did good. Okay?"  
_

 _"Keep going! We're – We're almost there!"_

Clementine sighs, realising maybe she shouldn't have come this far. Thinking of Lee in that walker infested city, it makes her heart hurt. The guardian figure who had given everything for her, even his _life –_ it wasn't fair that he was rotting away. The poor man didn't deserve that, he deserves a proper send off. Which is why she's here. But even so, the closer she's getting the more her nerves jangle and her heart pounds.

The two tread off the highway, looking around nervously for walkers. After the freeway, neither of the two are feeling particularly hopeful of getting away scot-free. Even Luke, who is usually convinced that the two can surmount any obstacle in their past, has a look of genuine fear on his face. He keeps his rifle raised, taking light steps so he can listen out for walkers. Clementine moves low to the ground, pistol at the ready.

 _She crouches next to the dead walker, picking up the heavy pistol with her shaking hands._

The nineteen year old stands still next to Luke, aiming into the distance. She squints, her eyes narrow as she takes in the distant view. Nothing in sight. She looks at Luke, who looks back.

"Anythin'?"

"It's quiet." she mutters, lowering her pistol slightly. "I can't see any walkers."

"No, I can't either."

"Maybe they're all on the freeway?" Clementine throws a glance over her shoulder.

"There were a lot of 'em." Luke says quietly, frowning. "We'll keep movin' towards the train tracks, we're real close to the city limits now."

"Okay." the young woman whispers back, her heart pounding deafeningly in her ears.

The two break into a stealthy jog, desperate to not be seen by any walkers that might be hiding – like back on the freeway, where they leaped out from under the cars and ambushed the two from every angle. Clementine brings up the rear, looking over her shoulder frequently for walkers or bandits that may sneak up on them. Luke has his assault rifle slung over his shoulders, holding his machete firmly as he leads the way towards the train tracks running parallel to the freeway.

Clementine's heart skips a beat as she recognises the tracks from ten years ago. Her features fall as she thinks of her childhood friend's fate outside the train, Lee racing into the forest with a grim look on his face.

" _What's happening?" she asks, looking up at Lee. Lee crouches in front of her._

" _I'm going to make sure Duck is okay, sweet pea."  
_

 _"How? I thought he was dying." Clementine whispers, confused. Lee nods, sighing._

" _I'm … I'm putting him out of his misery." he tells her honestly, a sad look in his brown eyes.  
_

 _"Oh."_

" _Yeah." there's a delicate pause. Clementine sniffles, tears running down her cheeks. "Listen, Clem -" the crash of a gunshot shatters the illusion of peace._

" _NO!" Kenny screams from the forest. Lee jumps out his skin, looking to the forest._

" _Ben, get Clementine on the train! Go, it'll be fine!"_

Lee had emerged from the forest with Kenny a few minutes later, Kenny an emotional wreck. Lee had his head bowed, chewing his lip in deep thought. Clementine had snuggled up to him, and he had held her tight as the train started.

" _Wh – What happened to Duck?" Clementine sniffles._

" _I … I put him down, sweet pea." he tells her softly, giving her a squeeze._

" _Oh... Where... Where's Katjaa?"_

" _She..." Lee looks at the forest as the train rolls away, closing his eyes. "She gave up, Clem."_

The haunted look in his eyes as he stared to the forest, the way his shoulders slumped as realisation seemed to hit him... It still haunts her nightmares, sometimes. Clementine had looked up to him as a little kid to always be brave, and to know the answers while she found her dad. Seeing him broken like that, even for a few seconds, was a terrifying experience for the little girl.

"Clem?"

"Hmm?" she flinches, looking to Luke confusedly.

"You uh – You were out of it for a sec there, kid."

"Oh." she mumbles, looking back at the train tracks sadly.

"Thinking of something?"

"Someone." she mumbles, scuffing her trainers. "You don't have to worry about me, Luke."

"'course I worry about ya." the farm boy chuckles, bemused. "But uh – I _may_ have a way to cheer you up some." Clementine lets out a soft hum, looking at her friend with a raised eyebrow. "C'mon."

Luke leads his young friend along the tracks, treading past an abandoned train yard and further along still. Clementine lets out a tired huff as they walk along the uneven terrain next to the track, her legs aching from the day's events. The farm boy looks at an abandoned freighter train with a box car, and looks at Clem.

"Reckon there are -" he starts, a hopeful tone of voice as he hooks his thumb over his shoulder at the box car. Clementine interrupts him quickly, a shake of her head accompanying her words.

"There aren't supplies in there." Clementine mutters duly. "Trust me."

"Okay..." Luke says, his voice slow.

" _Lee, have you seen my walkie?" she asks, her voice high and squeaky. Lee looks down at her, looking upset with the nine year old girl. He crouches in front of the nine year old, chewing on his words. He raises the walkie talkie, but holds it tight._

" _When did you start talking to that man?" he asks, his voice low. Clementine's eyes widen._

" _I – I don't – I haven't."  
_

 _"Clementine, don't lie to me." he tells her gently. "I'm not mad."_

" _He -" Clementine looks at the floor, and gums up. Lee tries to get her to talk, but the little girl doesn't give him any form of response. He sighs, standing up and slipping the walkie talkie onto his belt loop.  
_

 _"I'll give this back when I know who the guy is. I'm sorry, sweet pea."_

She sighs, looking up at the dark freighter. She smiles wryly, recalling her initial fear over the heavy vehicle.

" _Train's cool, huh?" Lee asks playfully, raising one of his eyebrows. Clementine looks at it for a few moments, tilting her head as she thinks._

" _I guess. Scary kinda."_

" _Yeah, I can see that." he murmurs. "Don't worry, you're safe."_

"Clem, c'mere." he beckons her over. The nineteen year old treads towards him, pistol in her right hand. Luke gestures triumphantly towards the city, and for a moment Clementine is completely still as she drinks in the view. The tall white spires of the church towers Molly would use to lure walkers from district to district. The intimidating building that was the centre of Crawford. And when she looks out towards the river.

The Marsh House.

Clementine lets out a shaky breath, a smile crossing her lips. Luke looks at her with a smile, watching as she looks over the city. She can't help but wonder if Molly is still kicking around, looting various things here and there to get by. Maybe she … No, no, she's got to have made it.

"You all right?" he asks gently. She nods, her smile spreading across her face.

"We – We made it!" she breathes, hugging herself. Luke chuckles.

"Yeah." he folds his arms across his chest, a grin on his face. The two stand in silence for a few precious moments, the young woman breathing in and out shakily. She's trembling, slightly.

"Let's help Lee." she whispers, her voice surprisingly strong despite the fact she's trembling from head to foot.

"Right behind ya, kid."


	5. Chapter Five - Alive Inside

A/N :

Hey everyone!

Well, here we are! The end, already. I'm quite happy with how quickly I've managed to crank this out while maintaining a degree of quality that I think is acceptable. I've loved every second of writing, though I have felt a bit dirty at times...

But all good things must come to an end, and writing a story is definitely not an exception! Not that I'm saying this is a good thing, but the experience of writing it certainly was! Word of warning - this one does not contain as many action scenes as _No Mercy_ and _Closer and Closer_ , as I felt a slower pacing was more appropriate for what's to come.

A huge huge huge HUGE thank you for EIGHT hundred views. Like, holy crap! That's _so_ many views! Thank you all!

I dunno if it's good form to thank people for favouriting, but I'm going to anyway! I won't name names (again, I don't know if it's good etiquette as it were. If someone could let me know it would be 'ppreciated!)

As usual, I'm going to take the time to answer the reviews I got before we get into this. So!

TheDomdotCom: Heeey! First of all, thanks for the reading recommendations. I have my eye on a few that have certainly caught my eye (Yours included, rest assured!) and I'll be reading through them probably this weekend! Yay! I'm really glad you've enjoyed the story so far, and I'm hugely grateful you've left a review on every chapter. It's been humbling to hear your praise, honestly. I liked the idea of Statesboro being... Well, screwed. Some cities will have their shit together, but I get the feeling others would have succumbed completely to the walkers, and I wanted to test the waters with that idea with a stop gap city. The jump scene was fun for me to write, and I'm glad you picked up on the parallels between this scene and the one way back in Crawford. I was half tempted to have Clementine say similar things to Lee, but I feel that it would've been a little bit of a stretch to have her overhear it or something from another roof. The scene in the car on the freeway was pretty gut-wrenching to write - fun fact, I initially had intended to have that scene at the end of this story and end on a cliffhanger. I know, I'm a horrible human being. I decided against it because I wanted a more... Hmm, final might be the word for this ending. While I wasn't sure that was quite the angle I was going for with the line, I appreciate it all the same! I think it was something I heard in _Borderlands_ or something, I can't quite remember. I thought it was a very "Nate" thing to say, though. I'm also glad you enjoyed the action scene - I'm always worried I go into too much detail when I write, so I'm glad it gives off the intended effect! Thank you so so much for reviewing each time again, it's been a pleasure! I hope you enjoy where the story is going, and I hope you read the A/N at the end afterwards!

LilacsBloom : Hiya! A huge thanks for taking the time to review, it's always great to read what the reader has to say! From what I remember, I think I remember reading one of your works a while ago - before I had an account, I mean - and absolutely _adoring_ your interpretations of Luke and Clem. So to hear such shining praise from you is... Well, I mean, I'm truly, truly humbled! Thank you, so much! I think for a first FanFic, this isn't too shabby an attempt. I try and take pride in my work when possible, and it always helps when the readers seem to enjoy it! I'm glad you liked the interactions between Clem and Luke - one of my biggest fears when writing is that I don't really _nail_ Luke. He's a fun character to write, though, as I loved him to bits in Season Two. Same goes for Clementine too, really, as I feel the original writers did such a great job writing a convincing child in an apocalypse story. I'm also glad you enjoyed the flashbacks throughout - making Carver do that to poor Clem was not something I enjoyed doing, but I did want to exemplify how messed up some people can be in the apocalypse. I hope this is a good conclusion to the series, and thank you for the very kind words! They made an awkward Brit very happy to read!

Right, that's the reviews done and dusted. Thanks for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting. Any thoughts, please leave a review at the end! Thanks for reading _A Long Walk Home!_

Edit : 28/08/2016 12:50

First of all, a huge thank you for the hugely kind reviews! It's been great to read through them, and I'll be addressing them in SOME way, shape or form soon. Just... Need to figure out a clean way to do so, haha.

Second of all - Thank you for NINE HUNDRED VIEWS! I jumped out of my skin, realising how close I am to my target of one thousand views. Thank you all, **so** much!

Now, this edit is just about clerical errors. I'll be updating soonish about the future of the series, but until then:

In general, I cut back on the use of the word 'kid' ... Namely because I used it, uhm, fifty... Fifty six odd times. Uhm.

A huge thanks to LilacsBloom for bringing it to my attention, I honestly hadn't realised how many times I'd used it this chapter!

I've gotten it down to eight times in dialogue, though! So that's definitely an improvement. Now, onto the specific changes:

 ** _Act Two (The Herd)_**

Added a few words to the flashback at Howes, to show Luke didn't just blindly trust an eleven year old with his escape plan.

 _Luke can't help but share the doctor's scepticism, regardless of how fond he is of the little girl sitting beside him._

Refreshed the low five scene to show how curious I imagine Clem would've been when learning something so innocuous:

 _"That's a low five." the farm boy tells her with a smile, before crouching in front of the eleven year old._

 _"Kind of like a high five?" she asks, curious._

 _"Exactly, Clem." the little girl nods, smiling shyly._

Changed the formatting and added some words to the scene before Clementine and Luke walk among the herd outside the tourist shop.

 _"C'mon, Clem." he eases her forwards, and Clementine finds herself walking without really thinking about it. Her chest rises and falls quickly, shaking from head to foot._

 _Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot._

 _Every footfall sounds deafening, a raucous crescendo as her farm boy opens the door to the store and the two trudge out onto the street._

 ** _Act Three (Lee)_**

Corrected some _utter_ gibberish my tired mind wrote during the flashback to watching baseball with her dad _._ Clementine now reminisces the following:

 _Clementine remembers fondly the time she had watched a match with her father, giggling delightedly as he cheers. Mirroring the look of delight on his face as his team performed well, and mimicking his groans of disappointment as the opposing team scored time and time again. Clementine turns to looks at her friend, who smiles warmly at her._

I've added some words throughout to the flashbacks - adding a few words here and there to add a little sympathy for Clementine and Lee.

Further, I took the liberty of adding a flashback to the scene within the jewellery store - namely, the bit in Season One which really punched me in the gut:

 _"Get up, Lee! The door is right here!" she begs him, tears racing down her cheeks._

 _"Clem... I can't move. This is it for me, here." Lee breathes. He looks centuries old in his exhaustion.  
_

 _"Please! Please! Just - Just try to get up!" Clementine weeps, her eyes widening even further.  
_

 _"I can't." the ex-teacher croaks, looking so guilty.  
_

 _"You have to!" she wails._

 ** _Act Four (Epilogue)_**

Added a line break between two lines of dialogue - Damn formatting! It now reads as:

 _"Stay with me, kiddo." the farm boy chuckles. "You ain't sleepin' yet."_

 _"'m not even tired." she mumbles, clearly lying through her teeth._

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for reading and reviewing.

\- BHBrowne

* * *

Clementine follows her older friend through the blood shod city, walking slowly and steadily. The moon hangs high in the sky, steadily raising as the minutes roll by. She cradles the trigger of her pistol, aiming it a little higher as they round a corner. The young woman lets out a shaky breath at the clear street, looking around.

"Do you know where we are, Luke?" she asks softly, looking over her shoulder.

"Not really. Any of this look familiar to you?" the farm boy looks at his young friend with a slight smile on his face. The nineteen year old sighs, looking around the abandoned roads.

 _Kenny leads the way into Savannah, the rest of the group in tow. Omid is constantly crashing into cars, his crippled leg making him lose balance more often than not. Clementine finds herself stopping frequently, tilting her head and staring up at the buildings, hoping for a sign from her parents. Lee looks over his shoulder when he realises the little girl is not walking next to him._

" _Come on, Clementine, try and keep up."_

" _Lee?" she pipes up, ignoring his instruction. Lee doesn't look impressed, but indulges the small child._

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"What do those signs mean?" Lee frowns at that, walking over next to the little girl._

" _Signs?" he asks as he walks over, confused._

" _Uh-huh. I haven't seen them before."_

" _Huh." he touches the scrawled marking on the door, evidently curious of their origin. "They're all along the street." he murmurs to himself._

Clementine notices the markings are still on the doors of the houses all along the street, the red paint faded from years of battling the elements. The young woman frowns as she looks around the city, biting her lip nervously as she realises they may be a little lost. Clementine swallows, standing on her tip toes and looking for something she'll recognise.

Her eyes widen as she recognises the mansion the old group had taken shelter in when they first arrived in the first city of Georgia, over a decade ago.

"Luke!"

"What? You okay?" he asks hurriedly, worried she's getting attacked.

"I think I know where we are." she sounds truly excited, and Luke raises an eyebrow.

"What, Savannah?" Clementine shoots him a glare, and the farm boy chuckles. He raises both his palms, his chuckles growing ever so slightly louder. "Lay it on me."

"There's a mansion, there. I think Lee and I went there, when we first got here."

"Good eyes." Luke praises the young woman, who smiles shyly. "We'll check there, maybe other survivor's are there and can give us directions."

"Or maybe there are supplies my old group missed."

"Exactly." the thirty four year old agrees. "You lead the way."

Clementine walks nervously through the streets, leading her companion through the bloodied city. As the two get closer to the mansion, the nineteen year old starts to notice more and more walker bodies. She treads over a large overweight one, with a bullet hole in it's head, as she approaches the boat shed. Her lips tug to a smile as she remembers finding the group's ticket to salvation while exploring the garden. Lee's amazement evident on his face, his jaw hitting the floor as he regarded it. The delighted laugh that had left his mouth, realising that there may be hope after all.

" _Lee!" she squeals, delighted, and hugs him tight._

 _"What were you doing in there?" Lee asks playfully while he hugs her close. Clementine breaks away, beaming from ear to ear._

" _Exploring!" she says, practically jumping for joy at her discovery. "And look, look what I found!" Lee opens the shed doors slowly, and his eyes widen._

" _This was … This was here the whole time?" he gasps, his mouth wide open._

" _I know, right!"_

The boat is missing, though. Clementine knows what happened to it, after Christa told her about how everything started to go wrong after the raid to Crawford. The little girl hadn't been able to process at first the idea that the group of old people could do such a thing, and yet they had. Clementine looks further down the street, a frown on her face. She recognises the spot where she dropped her walkie talkie, when the stranger took her away from Lee. Near that spot, there's a walker with a crushed skull propped up against the wall. Blood splatters the floor in front of it, brighter than a walkers. It looks old, though. The young woman finds herself feeling sorry for the poor survivor who probably shed blood here, whenever that may have been. The nineteen year old turns on her heel and looks at the floor of the boat shed, frowning at a crumpled note that is lying on the floor.

"Anything here?" Luke asks softly, but Clementine ignores him for a moment. She crouches next to the note and picks it up, a frown on her face as she unfolds it.

"Clem? You still with me?"

" _Lee._

 _I'm sorry for taking the boat from you all, especially you and Clementine. It's not personal, it's about survival. I hope things work out for your group, you're not a bad person. But I have to look out for my people, first._

 _Vernon."_

Clementine feels a rush of hatred towards the man who tricked her old guardian, and finds her heart pounding harder, her blood turning to a boil. She shuts her eyes and takes a few steadying breaths.

"I'm fine." her voice is hard as steel, her golden eyes narrow as she tosses the note back to the floor.

"What did the -"

"Nothing, it's not important." she stands quickly, shifting her pistol into both hands.

"Clem..."

"I'm _fine_ , Luke." the look on her face is one of fury, and the young farm boy finds himself recoiling ever so slightly. Luke regards his friend cautiously, worried she's about to get seriously angry. Instead, however, she just shuts her eyes and takes a few deep breaths.

"Okay, if you're sure." Luke says slowly, not entirely convinced but willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Clementine sighs, painful memories of her first group rushing back to her. She looks at her older friend, shoulders sagged.

"Should we check the mansion?"

"Don't see a reason not to." the farm boy shrugs, following his young friend into the garden of the mansion. Clementine's eyes are drawn to the hastily dug grave next to the dog house, and her heart sinks like a stone as she remembers poor Alvin Junior.

" _D – Did you put my letter in?" Clementine sniffles, watching as Luke shifts another mound of earth. The farm boy nods, looking at the little girl._

" _Yeah, I did. Don't worry." the eleven year old nods, tears racing down her cheeks. The farm boy puts the shovel down for a moment and crouches to Clementine's eye level. "You okay?"_

" _I miss him, Luke." she croaks. Luke nods, and then blanches as the eleven year old girl hugs him tight. He returns it, patting the small girl's back reassuringly._

And then, of course, how can she forget the second purpose of the grave. When Lee had climbed down the stairs with something in his arms, the unpleasant smell of death following him as he trudged out the house. She had slipped past Kenny, who had seemed devastated, holding his gun close to him and whispering to himself about his late son. How, despite Christa's pleas, the little girl had followed Lee out the house to see him burying something.

 _Clementine looks out the door and sees Lee digging. Everything about how he looks – his posture, his fallen features, his slow movements – he looks saddened, defeated. As he shifts another mound of dirt, he turns to face the young girl. She frowns, upset by what seems to be happening, and goes back inside. Lee sighs sadly as she goes, and she sees out of the corner of her eyes him turning back to face the grave._

The young woman shakes her head, looking towards the house. The back door is smashed in, the wooden object crushed into the floor with holes all through it.

"D'you reckon Fido's still kicking about, some kind of walker pooch?" Luke asks wryly, nudging the dog house with his foot. Clementine shakes her head, pointing to the grave. "Oh."

"Yeah." Clementine mumbles, saddened by the thought of the dead dog. She looks to her friend, and decides to try and lighten the mood. "I always wanted a dog, as a kid."

The bait seems to work, and her older friend looks at the nineteen year old with a warm smile.

"That so?"

"Yeah. But my mom didn't like dogs." she frowns slightly, looking at her shoes. "I remember I was really jealous of Sandra, she had a puppy."

"Sandra?" Luke tilts his head. "Old friend?"

"My babysitter." she smiles slightly, remembering the young woman fondly.

" _Wow, she's so pretty!" Clementine whispers in awe, staring at the photo of the golden retriever._

" _Yeah, she is, Clem!" the babysitter says enthusiastically. "I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind if ..."_

Clementine shakes her head, looking up at Luke.

"What happened to her?"

"She got bit on the first day, I think." she frowns. "She turned and … And Lee killed her."

"Shit, Clem, I'm sorry." he looks guilty, no doubt for making her think of her fallen friend.

"It's fine." the nineteen year old says with a little smile. "I hardly remember her anyway."

"I meant about making you think of Lee."

"We're in Savannah, _for_ Lee." she reasons, the smile fading ever so slightly. "I was thinking of him anyway." Clementine fiddles in her pocket, and Luke watches the motion.

" _What's that you got there?" Luke asks gently, three days into plotting their escape. He crouches next to the eleven year old, who is looking at her oatmeal with a neutral expression on her face. In her left hand, she holds a piece of paper which rustles slightly in the breeze._

" _Oh – Uhm – It's a photo."_

 _"What of?" the farm boy asks warmly, sitting next to the small girl._

" _My friend. Lee."_

He knows how important that treasured keepsake is to the young woman, an object which she prizes above any medicine, food or water. The memories of the past, though horrible and traumatic to her, are important for her to cling on to. She feels it would be an cruel way to treat her dead friend, an insult to his memory. Clementine smiles at her friend, who smiles back.

"Let's check inside, there might be somethin' for us."

"Yeah, okay." she mumbles. The two creep up to the hole the back door used to occupy, listening out for the living dead. Silence greets their ears, and so Luke enters the house.

"Woah, shit!" he yelps, recoiling.

"What, what?!" Clementine gasps, twisting into the house with her pistol raised.

"I – Oh." he crouches next to a greying, mottled hand. "Trod on this." Clementine cringes at the severed limb, before walking into the kitchen. She frowns at the sight of all the drawers left open, some dumped on the floor. Foot prints puncture the layer of dust that covers the floor, suggesting a survivor has passed through recently. Clementine stares at the severed arm for a few more seconds, thinking of how Lee had cut off _his_ arm to try and buy himself more time. With a little shake of her head, Clementine starts searching the kitchen more thoroughly. Luke slips into the living room, checking under the sofas and various articles of furniture.

"Find anything?" Clementine asks, letting out a soft sigh as she stretches to check the cabinets bolted to the wall.

"Nah. Didn't think there'd be food rations tucked in between the cushions, though." he chuckles. There's a pause. "This is – was – a nice place."

"With or without the rotting arms all over the place?" she asks sarcastically, poking her head through the doorway. Luke picks up a cushion from the sofa and tosses it at her, a grin on his face. She ducks it with a laugh, going back to searching the kitchen.

"Don't look at me, I'm not an interior designer." the farm boy calls after her, lifting up a painting to look behind it. Clementine laughs again, tickled by the wry observation as she wanders into the hallway. The sight of arms littered next to the bashed down front doors makes Clementine's eyes widen.

"Holy shit." she mutters, looking to her right in the living room. The nineteen year old recognises one of the walker corpses as Brie, the woman who had joined their group to help loot Crawford.

" _What about us? Don't we get a say in -" her sentence is cut off as the woman shrieks in pain, a walker digging it's claws into her and biting her neck. Clementine screams in fear as the walker rips the woman's guts out, chewing on them ravenously as other walkers crash into the classroom._

" _Brie, no!" Vernon howls._

" _Now can we go?!" Molly asks impatiently, backing up. Lee nods._

" _Damn right! Vernon, come on!"_

And now, here she is. Her skull has a slash mark through the forehead, dry blood surrounding the wound. Maggots writhe around in the eye sockets and Clementine retches, suddenly all too aware of the rotting smell coming from almost every inch of the house. She coughs, backing towards the kitchen. She shoves the dog food away from her, not wanting to smell the spoiled food on top of the rotten corpses.

" _I'm not desperate enough to eat that. Not yet at least." she can hear Lee mutter to himself as he walks into the back room, pistol at the ready._

Clementine winces, her eyes watering from the repugnant smell permeating everything in the large house. The young woman looks towards the stairs, before turning back to Luke.

"I'm going to check upstairs, maybe there's something in one of the bedrooms."

"All right, shout out if you need anythin'." he calls after her as she jogs up the stairs, knife in one hand and pistol in the other.

"Will do." she replies drily, eager to get away from the rotting smell.

The plan backfires, however. As she gets to the top set of stairs, her eyes start to water again from a rotting set of smells assaulting her. Scores of dead body line the hallway, bullet holes through each of their skulls. The nineteen year old groans, repulsed, and treads over the corpses. She beelines for the study, opening the glass door slowly.

" _Hey, sweet pea." Lee greets her gently, walking into the room._

 _"Kenny's working on the boat." Clementine says, watching the southerner work from the window. She's sitting on the window sill, and turns to face her friend as he crouches in front of her._

 _"I know."_

" _What are we going to do? After he fixes it, where will we go?"_

 _"I dunno. Wherever Kenny tells us, I suppose. He's a good captain, and knows the seas well" There's a pause, and Lee tilts his head as he notices the little girl's sad expression. "Clem, honey, what's wrong?"_

 _"Is Ben going to be okay? He hasn't been the same since he got back." Clementine asks, her features low as she regards her guardian. Lee nods slowly._

" _Well, he's been through a lot, Clem. He's just... He's gotten a little overwhelmed, that's all. I'm sure he'll be fine, just give him time." he gives her a reassuring smile._

" _Before we leave tomorrow, will we have time to look for my parents?"_

 _"I'd like to, Clem, but we may not have time. We really shouldn't stay her any longer, it's not safe." Clementine looks down at the floor, the epiphany suddenly dawning on her that she may never see her parents again. She puts her head in her hands and starts to cry, weeping loudly. Lee looks devastated, and bows his head for a moment. "I'm sorry, Clementine. I'm so sorry." his voice is barely louder than a whisper. The ex-teacher looks up, saddened, and he slowly reaches out to her. His hand is about to make contact with her, to comfort the little girl, but she turns her back on him and lays on the window sill. She stares out the window, sobbing to herself._

Clementine sighs, looking around the room with a sad eye. She walks towards the window sill, having spotted a piece of paper coated with dust. The young woman crouches next to it and scoops the sheet of paper up. She smiles sadly at it, tilting her head at the childish drawing of Lee looking sad as he holds a shovel in his hand. Clementine folds the piece of paper, tucking it into her jacket pocket to hold onto. Deciding she may as well give the place a once over for supplies, the young woman walks around the table and opens the drawers. A notepad lies inside, filled with lined paper. Clementine shrugs, placing the jotter back in the drawer and sliding it shut.

"Pointless." she mutters to herself, looking around the room briefly. Satisfied there aren't any places supplies could be hidden in the room, the young woman slips out the study room again. The glass rattles ominously as she eases the door shut behind her, and she catches a glimpse of her reflection. She can't help but wince at the look in her eyes, the messy locks of hair that tumble over her forehead and the layer of grime that coats her face. The nineteen year old pays particular attention to the bags under her eyes from not sleeping, giving her face a skull like appearance. Her skin is too pale, in her opinion, probably again from not sleeping. Or maybe not drinking enough. She reaches into her pack and takes a quick swig of water, before wetting her palms and rubbing her face. She moves her hands away after a few seconds, nodding in a satisfied way at her cleaner looking skin.

" _Please have water." Clementine mumbles, twisting the faucet. Her shoulders slump, defeated, when no water comes out. "Figures." the little girl smiles ever so slightly at her saying of the word her mentor used to say, all the time. She reaches into her pack and withdraws her bottle of water, wetting the rag in front of her and cleaning her face. She looks back at her reflection, and finds herself smiling at her clean reflection. "Better."_

She squints at her reflection again, tilting her head. The nineteen year old huffs, hastily tucking her hair under her father's old cap, making a mental note to cut her hair soon. Clementine flashes her reflection the briefest of smiles before stepping back onto the top floor hallway. She sucks in her breath, not wanting to inhale any of the rotting air unless she has to, and treads through the landing. Her eyes widen in confusion at the sight of an overturned chest of drawers propped up half way through the hallway between the study and the bedroom. Shell casings litter the area behind and on top of it. Clementine let's out the breath she was holding in and coughs at the smell of the walkers, pinching her nose as she walks towards the wooden furniture. She peeks over the drawers, her eyes widening at the dozens of bullet like objects. The young woman crouches next to one, picking it up and rolling it in her fingers. The cool metal sends goosebumps up her arms, so much colder than the temperature of the house.

"D'you find anything, Clem?" Luke calls from the downstairs. Clementine rolls her eyes. _Subtle as ever._

"No, not really." she replies, keeping her voice as quiet as she can while still talking loud enough to her older friend. She raises her eyes to the heavens as the man jogs up the stairs, his footsteps loud. She can't keep the scowl on her face as the thirty four year old appears at the top of staircase, and instead smiles at her friend.

"Jesus, what died here?" he jokes, leaning against the bannister. Clementine scoffs at the poor taste one liner, folding her arms and looking at her older brother figure.

"Better question, what didn't?" she teases, nudging the overweight walker with her torn trainers.

"True." Luke mutters, looking down the hallway at the tipped chest of drawers. "What caused that?"

"I don't know, but there's a load of shell casings there." Luke's eyes widen.

"Any guns left there?" Clementine shakes her head, looking over her shoulder.

"No, I guess the people shooting escaped... Somehow."

"Lucky them." Luke mutters, looking around the top floor landing. "You searched the rooms?"

"Molly searched them really thoroughly last time I was here. I looked around the study, but there was just a notebook in there." Luke is looking at his shoes, frowning in concentration.

"Molly... That was the one that rang the bells, right?"

"Yeah. The one with the ice pick she called Hilda, remember?" Luke nods, smiling at his reminiscing friend.

From what the farm boy has gathered over the eight years he's travelled with the young woman, Clementine had only known Molly for a single day. Yet she'd had a profound impact on the little girl. The poor kid had lost so many people close to her, Luke thinks all the nine year old would have wanted is to have a friend to talk to that wasn't her only guardian.

" _Lee didn't trust Molly, at first. When I first met her, he'd pinned her to the floor and had a gun pointed against her head. I was scared he was going to kill her, he looked so mad. I think he was just scared, though."_

 _"Because of the guy following you?" Clementine nods slowly, looking guilty._

" _Anyway, after we got to know her a little, it turned out Molly was kind of nice, but she didn't really like working as a team. Lee didn't like that. But she helped us get into Crawford, and Lee was really grateful on the walk back."_

" _What happened to her?"_

 _"I don't know. She left the group before I noticed. I wish I got to thank her, though."_

 _"Maybe you will." the farm boy reasons, smiling warmly at her. Clementine shakes her head.  
_

 _"I doubt it. It was years ago." the eleven year old just sighs, propping her chin up by her knuckles._

The nineteen year old looks out the window at the end of the hallway. She crosses her fingers subconsciously, half hoping that the blonde woman will be seen on top of one of the many roofs, leaping from building to building. She finds her shoulders sagging ever so slightly, saddened by the idea that the woman might be dead. Clementine's eyes flit back to the tipped chest of drawers, her mind running amok with the possibilities of who may have hid there.

"Do you think those bullets were fired recently?" Clementine asks quietly, pointing at the spent bullet casings. Luke sighs tiredly, looking at the walkers. They look ancient, their skin peeling off in hideous strips. Their flesh is yellowing, and their eyes are completely pale.

"I don't think so, judging by smelly here."

"I guess." Clementine hums. She looks at a cord, and her eyes widen. "There's one place I don't think Molly looked."

"Where's that, Clem?" he asks warmly, indulging the young woman. In response, Clementine grabs the cord and pulls hard. The ladder clatters down, landing with a loud _thunk_ on the wooden floorboards. A soft cloud of dust flutters into the air as the metal contraption slams down, making the nineteen year old shield her eyes from the dirt. After a few moments, she lowers her arm and looks at her friend with a proud smile.

"The attic." she looks up into the entrance, frowning slightly.

"Nice work. Wouldn't have thought to look there." her older friend commends, peering into the darkness.

There's a few beats of silence, neither party wanting to volunteer to go into the dark room first. Neither are scared of the dark, but rather what could be lurking within it. A bandit, a wild animal, maybe the ever hungry walkers. The nineteen year old places her foot on the lowest rung, sighing quietly.

" _I can do it." Clementine whispers, her eyes wide. Lee crouches, smiling._

" _I know that you're brave enough."_

" _I want to go home." the eight year old whimpers, looking at her guardian with wide eyes.  
_

 _"This'll get us there, sweet pea."  
_

 _"Okay..." she whispers to herself, chewing her lip._

"I'll look first." she mumbles, her golden eyes reflecting in the moonlight.

"You sure, Clem? I don't mind goin' up there."

"No." she chuckles weakly, beginning her ascent. Luke draws his revolver and aims it down the hallway, his guard up as he checks for walkers.

"Lemme know when it's good, I'll come up behind you, okay?" the farm boy tells her, looking up to his friend. She nods, climbing up the rest of the ladder. She crouches low when she's in the attic, raising her pistol and looking around the dingy room.

A cold breeze whispers through the attic, making the young woman shudder. She looks around, her nose crinkling at the smell of alcohol. Clementine keeps her pistol raised as she creeps through the attic, moving on the tips of her toes to make as little noise as she physically can. As she goes past a sofa, she raises her pistol higher and twists slightly. Her idea is that, if a walker was lying there, she would instantly be able to shoot it from this position. She lets out a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding. Clementine smiles in relief, and looks over her shoulder. She frowns in confusion for what feels like the millionth time that day as she sees a hole in the wall. Debris litters the floor near it, a coat hanger that looks bent out of shape leaning next to it.

"What's that?" she murmurs to herself, walking swiftly and quietly through the attic. Clementine crouches next to the hole, and pulls at the rotting bricks. She peeks through, frowning. The hole in the wall leads to an abandoned home, with an awful rotting smell coming from the middle of it. The nineteen year old coughs, then sucks in her breath at the sound of walkers coming from the house. They don't seem interested in finding the noise the nineteen year old just made, and their noises recede in the house. The young woman peeks through the hole, noticing that the balcony door is wide open. She squints and notices there's no balcony at the end, either. Clementine chews her lip, wondering what could have caused the large metal structure to rip from it's hinges. She shrugs, defeated, and steps backwards from the hole.

"Luke, it's safe!" she calls over her shoulder. She hears movement beneath her, and turns in time to see her older friend slip into the attic. He peeks around, running a hand through his hair.

"Not much in here."

"Yeah." she looks down, disappointed. "There might be water, or something, though."

"Might be." Luke humours the idea, crouching next to a crate propped near a sofa. He rummages around, the contents rattling and clinking as they're knocked together by the farm boy's antics. Clementine's attention is drawn back to the hole in the wall.

"What do you think this is?"

"It's an attic, Clem." Luke mutters, rubbing his jaw. Clementine huffs.

"I mean the hole, asshole." she says, her tone biting as she glowers at her friend. Luke looks up, a playful smile on his face.

"So it's a hole, then." Clementine's scowl fades, replaced by a very slight laugh.

"What do you think caused it, then?" her friend gets up and walks over, standing next to her. He scratches the back of his neck, thinking.

"Huh, would you look at that."

"Already have." Luke looks over at his friend as she says that, noticing the laughter in her eyes.

"I walked into that one, huh?" the farm boy pokes his head through, frowning as he looks into the room opposite. "All the drawers are turned out, I don't think the people who came through here left anything behind."

"Damn." Clementine says softly, looking towards the ladder again. "Should we get moving, again?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

Luke leads the way back into the house, with Clementine right behind him. She toys with the idea of collapsing the ladder again, but decides against it. Worst comes to worst, a survivor could survive up there. As far as the young woman is concerned, walkers can't climb ladders. If anything, actually.

As they pass a corridor window, Clementine looks at her friend. Her eyes widen as she notices how exhausted he looks, his features thrown into a haunting light. She remembers with conflicted feelings when Luke had sneaked into the hardware store Carver used as a camp, how the farm boy had pulled Clementine out of line of sight of the guards to try and broach his plan.

" _Ouch, Jesus, kid! Chill, it's me!"  
_

 _"Luke!"  
_

 _"Yes! Wow, jeez, I think you drew blood!" he shakes his hand in amazement, trying to get feeling back in it. Clementine regards him for a moment, before hugging him_ _tight. Luke hugs the eleven year old back, smiling at the affectionate gesture._

" _I was worried about you! I missed you!" she mumbles, cuddling him close._

" _Awh, I missed you too, Clem." he smiles, easing her away after a moment. He looks ill, tired._

" _Are – Are you okay? You don't... You don't look right."  
_

 _"No, I'm – Oh, shit – I mean yes! Yes, yeah." he lets out a tired laugh and Clementine looks up at him nervously. She hugs herself loosely, looking a little uncomfortable. "I haven't slept since y'all got nabbed back at the lodge – you know how it is, you can't sleep because you're worried a lurker will pounce ya – but yeah... Yeah, I'm good."  
_

 _"That's, um, that's good." Clementine mumbles awkwardly, not looking convinced._

It was around that moment Troy, the bloodthirsty and borderline sadistic guard, had kicked the door of the comic store open and pointed his assault rifle at the two. With their hands at shoulder height, the two had been lead to Carver's office. The tyrannical leader had just watched the two for a moment, a sneer playing across his face. The two men had glowered at each other, and Clementine had the distinct feeling that she didn't want to be involved in what was going to happen next.

" _You can leave now, Clementine. Luke and I have something to... Discuss."_

Clementine had felt like a coward, but a reassuring smile from the farm boy had made her leave the office without a fight, wandering back to the pen. She had sat on her bunk and waited quietly for the others to get back from their jobs, worrying all day about Luke. The twenty six year old had returned before the others, completely unharmed but looking bothered about something.

" _Are you okay, Luke?"_

" _Yeah... Yeah, Clem, I'm fine. Just gonna get some rest."_

Just two days after that, Kenny had died. Luke had sat with the little girl as she stared blankly at the shutter doors, closed in on herself. The farm boy had felt so angry with the leader of the camp, for what he put Clementine through, that he stormed into his office four days after Kenny got killed and got into a shouting match with him. The leader had definitely _not_ been pleased by that, smashing the young man in the face and leaving him with cuts and bruises all along his visage. Luke had returned later to the pen, having received news that he would be having his food rations severely cut, and sat on his own on his bunk. It was then that the eleven year old had gotten up and talked for the first time in days.

" _Would you like my food? I don't like it."  
_

 _"That's uh – that's awful nice of ya. How about we share?"  
_

 _"I don't want it."_

" _I ain't havin' any until you eat at least half."_

The two had shared a smile, and the little girl had sat down next to the older man. She had confessed how much she missed Kenny to the young man, and he had hugged her with one arm while she ate. The two relied on each other, the bond between them solidified from their investment in one another.

The nineteen year old shakes her head ever so slightly, finding herself in the present day again. She's holding the guard rail on the staircase with one hand, her pistol clutched in the other. She looks again at her older friend, frowning at the exhaustion that lines his face.

"You look tired." Clementine mumbles as the two slip out the front door. Luke chuckles weakly.

"Lookin' forward to having a good night's sleep once we're outta here."

"Me, too." she sighs, thinking longingly of having four walls around her and a comfy bed. Hell, right now the nineteen year old would settle for the bunks in the pen back at Carver's compound. Anything but her scratchy sleeping bag.

"Right, d'you have your bearings?" Luke asks as the two stand outside the front of the mansion, the young woman rubbing her chin. Clementine frowns as she thinks, trying to remember back to the short time her group had spent in Savannah. _Think._

" _Wait, can't I come? My mom and dad can't be far now, maybe we can look for them on the way to the river!" Clementine appeals to Lee, who chews his lip.  
_

 _"Cl_ _em, honey, I think it might be best for you to stay here with Ben. I need you to watch out for Omid and Christa, help them get ready to move out." Lee tells her_ _softly, looking down at the nine year old._

 _"But you said I'm always supposed to stay close to you!" she whines, annoyed._

" _I know, I know, but it's just this once. Sometimes, we all have to put aside what we want for the good of the group." Lee notices the little girl's worried face, and relaxes his face into a warm smile."Hey, don't worry. I'll be back for you know it, okay?"  
_

 _"Okay." she mumbles. She watches as the two peel off, heading towards the river._

"Lee and Kenny went... That way." she points to the east, chewing her lip.

"You sure?" he asks quietly, keeping eyes peeled for walkers in the darkness.

"Pretty sure, yeah." the nineteen year old nods.

"All right, let's go that way, then." Luke falls into step next to the young woman, who seems deep in thought.

Her stomach flutters at the thought of seeing Lee again, after ten years. She feels as if a fist is closed around her gut and throat, making a sickening feeling rise through her body. Clementine lets out some ragged gasps, trying to calm herself. She comes to a stop, propping herself up against a wall as a cold sweat rolls down her forehead.

"Clem? Clem! You okay?" Luke's voice sounds distant, even though the young woman _knows_ that he's speaking loudly. She nods quickly, breathing shakily. Clementine looks up at the star speckled sky, settling her heart rate as much as she can. After a few moments of breathing slowly, she feels the rush of nerves and panic fade.

"S – Sorry." she croaks, hugging herself. Luke regards her worriedly. "I just, uhm, got a little overwhelmed."

"Ah." the farm boy looks more relaxed. "Thought for a sec you might have a fever or somethin', what with you being paler than death and sweating like that."

"No, I feel fine." Luke ignores her assurance with a wry smile, placing the back of his hand against her forehead.

"Guess you are." he relents, moving his hand away. "Wanted to make sure, you're not the most honest when you're ill."

"Says you." Clementine retorts, smiling at her older friend. Luke laughs, chuckling at his friend's comment. The two look outwards, towards their intended destination.

"Yeah, yeah." he concedes, his brown eyes searching the road ahead. He looks back at Clementine. "We probably aren't far now. You sure you're up for this?" Clementine nods, steeling herself. "I'm sure Lee wouldn't think any less of you if you wanted to leave, kid. You don't have to do this."

"I know I don't. I owe him, though. He'd do the same for me."

"All right, then." the farm boy says softly. "If you're sure."

"I am." Clementine looks determined, clutching her gun tight.

"Then let's keep movin'."

The two walk in silence, creeping along towards where they suspect River Street is. The signs have eroded, or been torn down, making them impossible to read to gather their bearings. The nineteen year old is wary of her surroundings, remembering all to well the last time she was there. How the street the Marsh House was on was filled to the brim with walkers.

Her parents among them.

The all too familiar rotting stench meets Clementine's nose, her eyes starting to water. She coughs, looking up. Her eyes widen and she goes completely still next to Luke, both of the adult survivors staring at the hellish sight in front of them.

A herd of the living dead in front of them. The walking corpses lumber around, moaning and groaning hungrily. They line the street, shoulder to shoulder. Clementine stares in horror at the huge group, the world going quiet around her.

" _Oh, you did honey. It was horrible out there. They woulda chewed me up."_

The herd pays the two survivors no mind, staggering on the spot in the blood drenched street. The nineteen year old hears a door click open and looks over her shoulder, where her older friend has succeeded in opening a convenience store door.

"In here, quick!" Luke whispers to her, holding open the door for her. Clementine ducks in, and Luke closes the door shut behind them as quickly as he dares.

* * *

Clementine peers out the window of the store, watching the herd with wide eyes.

"They must go on for miles." Luke whispers, checking the ammo for his revolver.

"What do we do?" the young woman breathes, moving away from the window.

"We just need two of 'em." the farm boy mutters, thinking hard. "So we can cover ourselves."

"How, though? If one of them sees us, the rest will." Clementine narrows her eyes as she looks around the store, for once hoping a walker is hiding somewhere.

"We'll think of somethin', don't worry about it." Luke assures her, wishing his headache away. "Maybe there's somethin' we can use around here."

"I'll have a look around." the nineteen year old says quietly, focussing her attention on the store for the first time. It's difficult to see, the moon light not reaching through the glass windows. Clementine squints, trying to look around without relying on her torch. To her right, there's a counter with a cash register on top. A tall rack filled with postcards lies next to it, and Clementine can't help but give the rack a spin. She smiles, picking a postcard out at random. _Greetings from the first city of Georgia! Happy holidays!_ The young woman shakes her head slightly, a smile curving her features, deciding to pocket the postcard for nostalgia's sake. She wonders if her parents would have bought her a postcard like the one she just took, the smile on her face turning wistful as she pictures her parents bickering over which postcard their little girl would have preferred.

She shakes her head, focussing on trying to find a way for the two survivors to get through the herd outside. The young woman opens the cash register, shrugging even as she does the action, knowing the contents will almost certainly be useless to her. Lo and behold, all that's inside is dollar notes and coins – useless to the average survivor.

" _Maybe there's something else we could use? I have a rock."  
_

 _"No, a rock won't do the trick... But a coin might! Do you have a coin?"  
_

 _"Nuh-uh."_

Clementine closes the cash register, the mechanical device making a soft _ding_ as it clicks shut. The nineteen year old swears under her breath, convinced the walkers outside must have heard the soft noise. Yet fortune seems to smile on the young woman, because not a single soul besides her and Luke heard the noise.

"Going shopping?" he teases, looking over from the shelf he was rummaging through.

"Shut up." Clementine mutters, crouching behind the counter and looking for supplies. She sighs as the cabinet door doesn't budge, realising it's locked. "Have you seen any keys?"

"Keys?"

"Uh-huh."

"Nah, don't think so. Why?"

"This cabinet is locked." the nineteen year old pulls again, sighing as the doors hold firm. "I thought they might have something helpful inside."

"If it's worth having, it's probably locked up." Luke says tiredly, nudging the contents of his shelf to one side and wandering around the store some more. "I'll keep an eye out."

"Okay, thanks." the young woman goes back to searching, watching out for the telltale glint that often reflects off of keys. Clementine gives up on searching the counter, and goes back to frittering around the store. She runs her fingers along the window sill, hoping to stumble upon a magical object to help them escape this situation. A walker looks across as Clementine stands near the window and lets out a low growl.

"Oh, shit." Clementine croaks. She ducks quickly, praying that the walker doesn't investigate.

" _Uhh... Guys?" Glenn whispers. Everyone looks at one another, before deciding it would be a good idea to get away from the windows. Everyone crouches, Clementine clutching Lee tight as she does so. Lee's still standing slightly, head cocked to one side as gunfire sounds in the distance._

" _They're gonna get in!" Larry hisses, peeking over a shelf.  
_

 _"Shut. Up!" Kenny snarls, a slight pause between each word._

" _Is that the military?" Lee asks slowly, his eyes darting around the room.  
_

 _"I don't know." Lilly whispers with a shake of her head, a slight shrug accompanying the gesture.  
_

 _"Thank God for whatever it is." Glenn murmurs, a slight smile on his face._

Luke pokes his head up, tilting his head as he watches the walkers paw curiously at the door to the store. Clementine is holding her knife close, ready to stab any walkers that stumble into the shop. Mercifully, the walkers seem to lose interest again. Clementine let's out a relieved moan, slumping against the double doors at the front of the store. She runs her fingers down the back of her neck, her head aching slightly. What she wouldn't give to rest right now. She makes eye contact with Luke, who peers out the window for a moment.

"Nothin's looking, Clem. You're good." he whispers. Clementine nods and stands, looking around the store once again. Her shoulders are slumped, looking a little defeated. She can't help but feel a little frustrated at herself as she walks – Lee could always figure a way out of a situation, no matter how dire it may have seemed. Even when he was dying, he helped her plan a way out of the jewellery store. And yet, here she was with her life depending on it, she can't can figure a way around a herd of slow, dumb, walkers. Clementine sighs tiredly, her head pounding as another wave of tiredness washes over her.

"God damnit. _Think_." she tells herself, looking annoyed. Luke catches a glimpse of her facial expression as she looks around the dark convenience store, and decides that it's definitely not a good idea to broach the subject with her. The farm boy just sighs, crouching again and checking for keys to help his nineteen year old travelling partner search the cabinet beneath the counter.

Try though he might, however, the keys don't appear after his quiet search of the aisles. Not that he was expecting them to be there. He looks up to talk to his friend, his features twisting into a sympathetic facial expression as he finds her propped against a wall with her head in her hands. Luke weighs his options up for a moment, before deciding to go and try and cheer his young friend up. He leans against the wall next to her, crouching slightly so he's standing at eye level with his young friend.

"You okay? You, uh, need anything?" he asks softly, eager to not alert the walkers outside. The nineteen year old shakes her head after a brief moment, still not moving her hands from her face. The farm boy contemplates his young friend, her ever present cap tugged low over her eyes. "Worried?" she nods this time, sniffling slightly. Luke sighs, looking back out the window at the herd. "About the herd?"

"Lee." she mumbles, her hands not shifting. The thirty four year old nods, giving the woman a moment to think. She moves her hands away from her face, her cheeks looking a little damp. Clementine sniffles, looking out the window at the herd, a sad look on her face.

"Try not to worry, it's – well, I would say normal to be nervous, but nothin's normal now, huh?" he chuckles, a grin curling his lips. Clementine nods, laughing weakly as she dries her cheeks with her jacket sleeve.

"Not really." she mumbles, a slight smile on her face.

"You feelin' better?" Luke asks, watching as his friend pushes herself off the wall and stands straight.

"A little." her voice is meek, her eyes showing her gratitude towards the older brother figure. She chews her words for a moment, before looking back at the dirty floor.

"Thanks, Luke."

"Not a problem, kid. Is what I'm here for."

"Crap jokes?" Clementine arches her eyebrows, smirking.

"I could tell you a crap joke, if you want." Luke offers to his friend, who looks at him with a tilted head. She smiles at him as she weighs up her options.

"Not if it's _literally_ a joke about crap." she mumbles. "I still haven't gotten over the last one."

"Never mind, then." the farm boy turns to check the counter the nineteen year old had been searching, a grin on his lips. Clementine laughs weakly, looking around the store with a more relaxed sense of mind. She stays low, remaining unseen from the walkers, as she slips over to a door. She stands, checking quickly that no walkers are watching, and creeps over to a door not too far from the counter. The nineteen year old survivor pulls at the door handle, grimacing as yet another place in the store is locked.

"Have you found the keys? Another door is locked, here."

"Not yet, no. But I reckon that's our next job."

 _"Our next order of business is getting the keys for the pharmacy." Lee says tiredly, looking towards the back office._

"Yeah, definitely." she says softly, looking at the moon which is hanging ever higher in the sky. Clementine notices a box bolted to a wall near the locked door and reaches towards it, giving the black handle a little pull. The rusty box clicks open, and Clementine looks delighted. "Luke!"

"Yeah, Clem?"

"I found some keys!" she looks delighted, retrieving the silver keys with a crooked finger. She twirls them around her pointer finger, looking towards the locked cabinet and the locked door.

"Good work" Luke praises her warmly, standing from his spot in the store. "Hopefully they help us out, somehow. Try the keys on the door and the cabinet you found, you never know what we'll find."

Clementine nods, deciding to try the keys on the closer lock first. She tries several of the keys before finding the right one, the locked door clicking gently as the lock disengages. The young woman smiles, satisfied, and reaches for her knife. She raises the weapon to shoulder height with her right hand, pushing the door open with her left.

The young woman gasps as she catches sight of at least one walker quietly chewing on what remains of a severed arm. She backs up slowly, turning to her friend. He nods quickly, drawing his blood stained machete calmly. Clementine looks to her friend, taking slow breaths. He puts a finger up against his lips.

" _Let's take 'em." the eleven year old looks at the walkers, before looking up at her new found friend. The brown haired man nods, grinning._

" _I like your style, kid. You get shorty, okay? I'll take the big one." Luke smiles at the little girl.  
_

 _"I got the big one." Clementine tells him, aiming to look tough to the new group.  
_

 _"Woah, Clem! Look, I know you're tough as nails, don't get me wrong. But are you nuts?" his eyes are wide, concerned at the idea of his young friend getting mauled in front of him._

" _Maybe. You're saying you aren't?" she tilts her head, smiling. Luke chuckles at the retort._

" _Just stick to the plan, okay?" the farm boy laughs softly._

Clementine and Luke slip into the back room, weapons raised. Luke creeps behind a flipped table, Clementine taking cover next to him. The farm boy clutches his machete tight, his knuckles whitening slightly. The nineteen year old survivor twirls her knife between her fingers, smiling ever so slightly at the simple trick. She peeks over the cover, spotting in fact two walkers feeding on the bones of a long dead survivor. Blood stains the floor, which the walkers seem to delight in.

 _The two survivors creep towards the walkers, weapons at the ready. At the last second, Clementine darts to the right and cracks the walker in the knees. It collapses with a sick thump, and the eleven year old lets out a determined cry as she slams the claws of her hammer into the back of the walker's skull. Luke looks at her, amazed for a moment, before cutting down the small walker with a quick swing from his machete._

Clementine vaults over the table as Luke lunges out of cover, landing behind the closer walker. The young woman plunges her blade into the walker's skull, blood bursting out it's head as the corpse crashes into the floor. Luke swings his machete in a wide arc, cutting the walker's head off with a firm _smack._

 _Luke gestures with his palm for the little girl before her to hold out her hand. She raises it awkwardly, worried the man's about to slap her for not following his plan. Instead, however, he gives her a grin and slaps her palm playfully. Clementine giggles slightly, watching as Luke holds out his palm the same way. The little girl hesitates for a second, before slapping his palm the same way, another laugh escaping her lips.  
_

 _"That's a low five." the farm boy tells her with a smile, before crouching in front of the eleven year old._

 _"Kind of like a high five?" she asks, curious._

 _"Exactly, Clem." the little girl nods, smiling shyly. "Now, uh – Don't do that again, okay? Don't want you gettin' hurt, now do we?"  
_

 _"Okay." she smiles, still quietly impressed with her kill._

Luke looks down at the mottled corpses, catching his breath slowly. His eyes dart up to the ceiling, frowning at the blood splatter that is all over the room. Whatever happened, before the two survivors killed off the living dead inhabiting the room, it wasn't pretty. Clementine hugs herself, the dark back room giving her the creeps. The nineteen year old looks to her older friend.

"I'm going to unlock the cabinet in the front." she pulls him out of his thoughts.

"Hm? Oh, oh, yeah." the brown haired man looks back at the young woman. "I'll uh... Get 'em ready." he twists his machete in his hand, looking sadly down at the dead bodies.

Neither of the two like the idea of cutting a walker open. Clementine refuses to, not able to get the idea out of her head that someone may do it to Lee. Luke doesn't enjoy it, but knows the grim task falls upon him, thinking of those in his group that did come back as the hellish creatures. The farm boy watches as his young friend slips out the room, not wanting to watch. He remembers with a sad sigh that her and Lee had apparently escaped the hotel she was being held at using this little trick, and reasons in his head that it must have scarred the poor nine year old girl for life back then, surrounded by the living dead as they made a bid to escape this nightmare of a city. He shakes his head, thinking of their botched escape from Carver's camp. Luring the herd to the hardware store, creating a diversion at the other side of the store from the pen which in turn allowed the rag-tag group of survivors to escape into the cold night. Walking among the dead had been Clementine's idea, but the farm boy knew back then that she didn't enjoy even entertaining the idea in her young mind.

" _We still need a way to get through that herd, though." Luke says tiredly, rubbing his forehead. "I mean, there's no way we can just cut our way through."  
_

 _"There's this one way." Clementine mumbles, not looking hopeful.  
_

 _"What's that, Clem?" the farm boy smiles warmly, looking at the little girl sitting next to him.  
_

 _"If – If you rub their guts all over you, you smell like them, and you can walk through. It's … It's how my friend Lee rescued me." she looks sad at the mention of Lee and bows her head. "He cut one of them open and we covered ourselves -"_

" _That really works?" Carlos interrupts in his heavy accent, raising an eyebrow. Luke can't help but share the doctor's scepticism, regardless of how fond he is of the little girl sitting beside him.  
_

 _"_ _Yes." the eleven year old sounds confident. "There were hundreds outside. Lee and I covered ourselves in guts and we just … We walked right through."_

The farm boy sighs, swinging his machete down into the walker's belly. Blood splatters out, hitting him in the face, but he ignores the warm sensation and focusses on cutting the walker open as quickly as possibly. The thirty four year old feels sick at the squelching sound his steel blade makes as it tears through flesh and bone. He puts the machete down next to the corpse and, after a moment of bracing himself, uses his hands to tug the wound open a little more to get at the organs safeguarded by it's rotting flesh. The slippery, bloodied skin makes Luke groan quietly and, as soon as he can see the organs, he removes his hands. They come away dark red, coated completely in blood. Luke rubs the blood on his clothes, groaning slightly as the blood stains his coat. Normally grey, the coat now has permanent dark stains in it. The thirty four year old man looks down at his jeans, sighing as he coats them in the walker's muck also. They'll need new clothes, after this trek. No survivor enjoys the smell of rot and decay, even less so when it's following their every move.

Clementine, meanwhile, is fiddling with the keys to unlock the cabinet. She shudders at the squelching noises coming from the back office, and shuts her eyes for a moment. The nineteen year old sees the hotel room vividly in her mind's eye, Lee crouching over a walker corpse and slamming his cleaver into the stomach of the walker he had just shot. The stranger's dead body is at the back of the room, a bullet hole in the front of his skull, crashed into the closet.

" _We'll get you cleaned up as soon as we can." Lee promises tiredly, holding the guts in a limp grip.  
_

 _"Not soon enough." she whimpers as the cold, yet warm at the same time, innards smear against her dress. Lee sighs deeply, and she catches a glimpse of his face – lined with guilt, his eyes low and sad._

She shakes her head, a few tears stinging her cheeks as she thinks of Lee's sacrifice for her. Giving his life to keep her safe. Cutting his arm off to buy a little more time to get to the Marsh House, even if it ultimately didn't make a difference in saving his life. Time and time again putting his neck on the chopping block to keep her safe, even if the chances of him dying were near definite. The amount that man had given to her, despite the fact they weren't even related … It warms the young woman's heart, whenever she thinks about it. She can't help but hope there are more good men like Lee out there, surviving. Clementine also finds herself hoping that such good people don't meet the same fate as her ex mentor. But then, being nice tends to end badly in the apocalypse.

The young woman finds the right key and clicks the lock open, smiling to herself as the door eases open. She pokes her head inside, looking at the contents. Clementine's shoulders slouch, finding nothing except some ledgers filled with numbers. She opens one and frowns, finding herself somewhat thankful she never had to get a job, confused by the tally charts and numbers running all the way down the pages. The nineteen year old shrugs, placing the ledger back inside, and rummages around the cabinet again. Her fingers brush the back of the cabinet and she sighs, closing the doors behind her.

Deciding that Luke should be finished cutting the two unfortunate walkers open by now, the nineteen year old steels herself with a deep breath and goes into the back office with a heavy heart. The young woman hugs herself, looking at her older friend who is standing loosely next to the other walker.

"Ready when you are." he mutters, looking down at the horrible monsters. Clementine nods, feeling miserable as she crouches next to the nearer of the two corpses. She hesitates, her hands hovering over the corpse as she prepares to smear herself with their organs. Her stomach clenches as she reaches forward, easing the slippery organs up and sucking in her breath. She swallows down the cry she wants to let out and focusses on getting the job done quickly, smearing the guts against her jacket and jeans as quickly as she can, while still being thorough. She shudders audibly when the guts touch her neck and face, her eyes wide as she catches a glimpse of the walker's face. She shuts her eyes and smears the rest of her face, doing her best not to get any in her eyes or mouth – that'd probably be a death sentence, getting walker innards inside your body.

"Can you get my back?" Clementine asks softly.

"Yeah, sure, Clem. You mind gettin' mine, after?" he asks as he scoops up some of the guts and motions of her to turn away from him.

"No, I don't mind." she mumbles as she twists away, looking up at a poster of a kitten on a wall. The kitten is in a tree, the caption " _Just hang in there!"_ almost mocking the two survivors. She can't help but chuckle at the morbidity of it all, laughing as quietly as she can at the silly poster.

"What're you gigglin' at?" Luke asks softly, and Clementine can practically hear the smile in his voice. The nineteen year old points at the colourful poster, and Luke reads it quickly. He laughs gently, bemused by the absurdity of the world they live in. "That's a motto to live by."

"Yeah." she shudders again as the dark, tar coloured, sticky liquid touches the back of her neck, and she squirms ever so slightly. Luke retracts the organs after a few more seconds of coating the nineteen year old woman, dropping them back into the walker's hollowed out stomach. They land with a sick _smack_ , making the nineteen year old sigh.

"Right, that should do ya." he says, a reassuring smile on his face. His young friend doesn't seem to find much comfort in his words, however, instead turning to face the dead walker's again.

"Hopefully." she murmurs, grabbing up the guts again. "Turn around, I can get your back."

"Thanks."

Clementine sighs, smearing the back of Luke's coat in blood and guts. To his credit, Luke stays almost perfectly still as the disgusting objects make contact with his clothes. Clementine smiles gratefully, glad her job has been made a _little_ easier. Though being able to smear her friend's clothes with guts a little easier doesn't make the task itself much more bearable, she still finds herself thankful to her older friend for not writhing in discomfort from the disgusting organs touching his clothes and skin.

"I – I think you're good." Clementine says hesitantly.

"I'm sure it's fine. Thanks again." Luke smiles genuinely, standing slowly. He hears his knees click as he stands, grimacing at the burst of discomfort in the joints in his legs.

"Yep." the two look towards the door of the store, shoulders slumped. They both dread what's to come. Walking through a herd is a terrifying, if not downright traumatic, experience for any survivor's who are brave, reckless or downright suicidal enough to try it. Surrounded by corpses that have nothing but an insatiable desire for flesh and blood, having to keep your breathing steady and your nerve's in check, it's not a situation a survivor wants to be enduring. Not that a person's wants and desires count for anything, nowadays.

"We got this, yeah?" Luke says gently, looking to his young companion. Clementine nods weakly.

"Yeah. We just have to..." she looks to her friend, then the herd again. Luke hears her swallow.

"Yeah." he nods, looking apprehensive. "Fun."

Clementine exhales slowly, watching the herd outside. The blood has already set into the nineteen year old's clothes, however the warm blood still feels sticky and fresh on the young woman's face. The young woman in question sighs weakly, peering out the window at the herd. She knows stalling won't make her feel better – that she has to grab the bull by the horns and just go for it – but all the same she can't bring herself to move an inch closer to the horde of walkers. Luke clearly feels similarly, for he hasn't moved an inch either. The golden eyed woman looks at her friend, who looks back at her with a resigned look on his face.

"C'mon, Clem." he eases her forwards, and Clementine finds herself walking without really thinking about it. Her chest rises and falls quickly, shaking from head to foot.

Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot.

Every footfall sounds deafening, a raucous crescendo as her farm boy opens the door to the store and the two trudge out onto the street.

" _Stay right next to me, and walk very slowly. Don't look around, and don't panic."_

" _Uh-huh." she squeaks, petrified.  
_

 _"I'll keep you safe." Lee promises tiredly, standing again._

Clementine steps closer to her friend as the herd meets them, not wanting to be alone as the wave of undead crashes over them. She sucks her breath in as they ease their way through, the first walkers paying them no mind. One bumps into her and she gasps quietly, slipping away before it can recognise who or what proved an obstacle for it. Clementine and Luke walk silently, looking at each other every now and then to make sure they're still accompanying each other on this march through a bloodied hell. Clementine's eyes scan the ranks of the undead without even wanting to, every now and then feeling a tug on her heart strings as she realises yet again that walkers are – were – people.

People who reached their fate a little faster than survivors already have.

" _What do you think happened, here? I thought this place was supposed to be secure!" Christa hisses, staring towards the double doors they had escaped the walkers through.  
_

 _"Same thing that always happens, I guess. In the end, the dead always win." Molly looks smug as she says it, a look of contempt on her face as she glowers around the school._

Those words sound all too true, right now. Clementine bows her head, not wanting to alert the walkers, and looks forwards. She hopes to see something she'll recognise – the flag flying high from the Marsh House, perhaps, or maybe just the river running next to them to tell them they're on River Street.

No such thing happens, though. So the two survivors are forced to just walk slowly, cowering from the walkers while trying their best to find _something_ they can use to find their way.

A walker groans and hungrily reaches out towards Luke, who lets out a soft breath and ducks the walker's swaying arms. The taloned claws which were once nails reach for the farm boy, who stops walking suddenly to avoid the clutching hand. Clementine watches as the walker slinks past, only for the young woman to go stock still as a walker stumbles to a stop in front of her. The nineteen year old stares at the walker, which is taking loud, raspy breaths. Luke turns to face the two, his eyes darting between them the way one may have observed a tennis rally back when television worked. The walker moans softly, staggering towards Clementine. She jams her eyes shut, knowing running away from it is suicide and that if she tries to dart left or right she'll knock a walker over, which will alert the massive congregation of living corpses. So she stands, stock still and eyes closed, praying the curious walker limps past her.

She hears footsteps crunch next to her, and opens her eyes slowly. The walker staggers past her, and the young woman lets out a relieved sigh. She slips next to Luke, looking up at him worriedly. His brown eyes search her golden ones, seeing fear evident behind the brave front she's trying put on.

"Stay close to me, Clem." Luke murmurs, his voice barely audible over the sounds the walkers are making. The nineteen year old is reassured by the farm boy's words, stepping closer to her older friend.

" _Let's go. Stay close to me." Lee says gently, holding Clementine's hand reassuringly as he leads her out of the house._

She nods, standing as close to Luke as she can as they push through the herd further still. Luke leads slightly, parting the walkers with gentle pushes – soft enough that they won't recognise them from another walker bumping into them, but firm enough that the rotting bodies are pushed out of their path. The herd starts to thin, the further they walk, and after a few more moments of pushing through the two are clear from the herd.

Not wanting to draw the ire of the legions of walkers behind them, however, the two stay walking in silence for a little longer, waiting until they can hardly hear the walker's groans and moans before talking.

"Nice work, Clem." the thirty four year old assures the young woman, who smiles faintly as she looks behind her at the herd.

"You, too." she looks around, pulling a face. If they weren't lost before, they _definitely_ are now.

The two survivors look around the street, the younger looking around miserably. Her shoulders are slumped, her feeling of uselessness almost palpable. She bows her head, not wanting Luke to see her if she starts to cry. Her eyes well up for a moment, but after fiercely berating herself she finds herself a little calmer.

"I don't suppose you have any idea where we are, do you?" the farm boy asks sheepishly.

"Um." Clementine looks to her friend uncomfortably, feeling guilty. "Not really. Sorry."

"Not your fault, you don't need to be sorry." the older of the two assures. "We'll find our way, eventually." he stifles a yawn as he says the last word, no doubt the adrenaline from before is wearing off, looking beyond tired at this point.

"Are you okay?" Clementine asks quietly.

"I'm fine, Clem, honestly. Don't worry about me."

"Okay..." the nineteen year old grins after a moment, looking at her friend again. "You're not the most honest when you're ill." she repeats his words from earlier, putting on a "dumb" voice as she imitates her friend. Luke laughs, batting his friend on her non-stitched arm.

"Mean." the farm boy admonishes his young friend, but not harshly.

"Honest." Clementine corrects the farm boy with an innocent smile, giving way to giggles as Luke rolls his eyes, smiling at the nineteen year old's jokes. "I'm sorry."

"Sure." he grins, looking down the street. He narrows his eyes at a torn sign. "What d'you think that says?"

"Something street." Clementine mumbles, looking up at the damaged metal object. The two come to a stop in front of it, the younger of the two tilting her head at the corroded street sign. "I can't read it, it's too rusty."

"Yeah." Luke sighs, looking out to his left. He makes to look back at his friend, but is stopped when he really notices what he's looking at. "Clem?"

"I really can't read it, Luke." she says, impatient. "So don't ask."

"Clem, look over here." the farm boy says, trying to maintain the surprise for his younger friend.

"Wha -" her eyes widen as she stares at the same thing.

The sea.

Clementine treads towards it, trembling slightly. She knows where to go, now. But for a moment, the two both stand still and drink in the view. The idea of other people surviving across that deep blue expanse, in different countries, it blows the nineteen year old's mind. Clementine leans against the guard rail, leaning out over so she can look at her reflection in the water.

"Don't fall in." Luke warns her playfully. "Don't wanna get wet jumpin' in after you."

"Hah, right." the nineteen year old agrees, frowning at her reflection. The blood coating every inch of her being makes her shudder slightly, vomit rising in her throat as she catches a smell of the walker blood. She swallows it down, looking to her friend as he leans on the guard rail next to her.

"We're real close now, huh?" he asks, his tone gentle.

"Yeah, just down there. I think." the nineteen year old squints down to their right, trying to pick out a place she can recognise – even just a familiar apartment building, _something_.

"I know that the Marsh House is near the water – the store's near there, right?" Clementine nods slowly, looking to her friend. Luke smiles wryly. "That's where my tourist knowledge ends, sorry."

"We'll find out." she smiles. Her smiles fades quickly. "We'll have to use the back entrance to the jewellery store, though." she looks worried.

"Why's that, Clem?" the farm boy asks, tilting his head slightly.

"I locked the shutter door when -" she swallows. "When I was there with Lee."

" _We're safe here, I locked us in!" she says excitedly. Lee's face falls, and he looks at her with terror.  
_

 _"Get that door open." he gasps, his eyes wide.  
_

 _"I can't!" Clementine squeaks, shaking her head.  
_

 _"Do it!" Lee yells, looking truly scared._

"Isn't there a padlock? We could just break it open."

"I locked it from the inside." she mumbles, looking guilty. "I think I know where the back door is, though."

"Ah, okay, good." the older survivor nods. "Was worried for a second, there." Clementine just hums in response, looking back towards their potential destination.

"Please be okay, Lee." she whispers to herself, her eyes flitting to the heavens for a moment.

"C'mon. Let's go see if this is the place." Luke suggests, and his young friend nods in agreement.

The journey towards the jewellery store is uneventful, the two survivors both engrossed in their thoughts. Clementine is thinking hard about Lee, now. What she's going to say to him, what he's going to look like. These thoughts and many more whirl around the young woman's brain, making the already present nerves rise in her stomach like a serpent before it's charmer. She breathes in sharply through her nose, letting the air out in a slow, calming breath.

Luke isn't as worried as his young friend, at least not directly. He's worried for how she may be after, of course, because in his mind he'd be a terrible friend if he didn't. The last thing the two need is for one of them to lose their mind, and Luke can't help but worry that such a fate awaits his young friend when she sees her friend as one of the undead. Stronger people than her would be traumatised by less horrific events. With all this in mind, Luke clears his throat.

"Clem, you sure you're up for this?" he asks quietly, looking at her with a worried eye. Clementine sighs patiently.

"Yes, Luke, I'm sure." a flash of something goes across her golden eyes – anger, maybe? - and the thirty four year old considers what to say to not upset her. "Do you not think I am?"

"So much has happened over the last week or so, Clem, I wouldn't hold it against you."

"I'll be fine, honestly. I just..." she takes a deep breath. "I need to get it over with. Before I change my mind." Luke rubs his jaw, regarding his bloodied friend with a tired eye for several uninterrupted seconds. "I promise."

"Okay, then." he gives her a smile, which she returns without hesitation as she starts to walk along the waterfront again. No walkers are in sight, and the two creep along the abandoned streets. The herd is far behind them, several streets away already. The two come to a stop at a collapsed sign, which reads _Maccabe Imports._ The heavy metal object is coated in rust, the ends of each side corroded to all hell. Clementine and Luke take a moment to look at it.

"What made that fall?" Luke asks gently, tilting his head.

"I dunno." she mumbles. "It wasn't broken when I was here."

"That's pretty odd." the farm boy muses, rubbing his chin. "Signs like these don't just fall off."

"There was a broken balcony back at the mansion... Maybe scavengers stripped the metal?"

"Decent theory." he smiles at the nineteen year old, who smiles shyly back. "We'll keep our eyes peeled, maybe there are other survivors around. 'specially if they're stripping places for supplies. Maybe they'll give us a hand gettin' out of here." Clementine nods, before looking along the water front.

"I think we're close, now." the young woman says, walking swiftly around the corner. Her breath catches in her throat as she sees the Marsh House titling and, looking just to the building's left, the dirty looking jewellery store. "Th – There." she says, her voice shaking as much as the finger that points it out.

"All right. Let's find that back door."

"Yeah." the two survivors start up the street, the younger of the two hugging herself in trepidation for what's to come.

* * *

Luke and Clementine slip around the back of the buildings, with the young woman leading the way towards the heightened fire escape. The two come to a halt in front of two walkers standing near the fire escape. One is missing a jaw, the other one of it's arms. The two survivors look to each other.

"You take stumpy." Luke murmurs, twisting his machete in his grip. "I got the other one."

"Okay." Clementine whispers, slipping up behind the walker she's been designated. It pays her no mind, chewing on the remains of a body beneath it. The nineteen year old raises herself to standing height, standing still behind the walker for a moment as it shovels more blood and organs into it's mouth with it's only remaining arm.

" _Kill it... Kill it!" Lee gasps, staring up at the little girl. "W – Watch out!" he croaks, indicating a display stand with an ornament on top. Clementine looks up through her screams, before scuttling past it. She knocks it slightly, and it wobbles ominously. Lee's eyes widen as the purple vase crashes into his head, and for a moment he's very still. He comes to after a moment, watching in horror as Clementine struggles against the walkers grip. Lee uses his foot to kick the baseball bat, the one she used to break into the back room, towards her. She snatches it up. "Get him!" he urges, watching as the nine year old girl slams the baseball bat into the walker's head with a shriek of exertion._

She plunges her steeled blade into the back of the rotting corpse, tar like blood coating the blade as she tries to remove the bladed instrument from the walker's skull. It stays firm, however, and so the young woman plants her right foot on the walker's back and pushes the corpse away with her foot, pulling the knife in the other direction.

" _Don't worry. Give it a good pull, it'll come out." Luke smiles, hand on his hip as he watches his young companion try and pry her hammer out. Just moments ago she had seemed an almost different little girl entirely, all giggles and laughs. Now, however, she fixes him with one of her death glares. The twenty six year old finds himself stepping backwards ever so slightly._

" _I know. I've done this before, remember? In a shed?"_

The young woman stumbles backwards as she pulls the knife free, and Clementine looks down at the walker she killed. It looks like it was a police officer before it died, a utility belt stocked with equipment an officer of the law would need to have. She rolls the heavy, rotting corpse over and checks the walker's gun, sighing as she pulls the slide back. Empty.

"Figures." she mumbles, putting the gun back down. She turns out it's pockets, sighing as she finds nothing but a drivers license and a wallet filled with dollar notes. Her attention is drawn towards a set of silver hand cuffs which are dangling off it's belt, and Clementine's shoulders sag.

" _Put the handcuffs on me. Attach me to this." Lee gestures weakly to the radiator, his voice dripping with sadness._

" _W – What? Why?" she gasps, confused as to why Lee would want that._

" _No matter what happens, you're safe then." he attempts to smile, but it comes off as a truly pained expression.  
_

 _"Nn... I don't know." she gives her head a little shake, looking down at the handcuffs miserably.  
_

 _"Just do it, sweetie!" he urges, his voice tired. Clementine relents, crouching next to her guardian and affixing the handcuffs to him. "Make sure they're tight."_

" _I don't – I don't want to do this!" she whimpers, locking the cuffs as tight as she can to her friend and the radiator. Lee sighs weakly as the metal digs crimson grooves into his wrists, but he doesn't make to warn her. The cuffs have to be tight. To protect her._

" _You have to... It'll keep you safe." he looks down at his cuffed hand, a tear running down his cheek as he looks back at the walker stuck in the chair. "You only have to deal with him, now."_

The young woman rolls the walker back over, looking at her friend who has just engaged his walker in combat. She watches as Luke pushes his machete into the roof of the walker's mouth and, after a few seconds of pushing hard, the weapon goes through the mouth and into it's rotting brain. Luke looks down at the walker, an overweight looking one wearing a baseball tee. _Atlanta Braves._ The nineteen year old smiles slightly as she looks at the shirt, remembering that her dad was a huge fan of the "Dodgers". Thus, why he owned the cap the young woman wears everywhere she goes. Clementine remembers fondly the time she had watched a match with her father, giggling delightedly as he cheers. Mirroring the look of delight on his face as his team performed well, and mimicking his groans of disappointment as the opposing team scored time and time again. Clementine turns to looks at her friend, who smiles warmly at her.

"Anything on that guy?" Luke asks, trying to take his young friend's mind off of the grim task she set herself.

"Not really. His gun's out of ammo." the nineteen year old says quietly, looking up at the fire escape.

"Damn, that's a shame. Could always use more ammo." Clementine just nods, before starting towards the stairs. The brown haired farm boy sighs gently, following his young friend towards the back door of the jewellery store.

Clementine lets out a shaky breath and jogs up the steps to the fire escape door, her exhausted friend right behind her. She stops at the door that's haunted her nightmares for so long, running her eyes up and down the worn out metal door.

The nineteen year old holds the keys loosely in her hands, trembling from head to foot. Now that she's here, she's feeling a whole lot more nervous. She looks to her friend, who smiles at her reassuringly. She looks back at the fire escape door which is locked in front of her, and she raises the keys slowly towards the lock. The nineteen year old swallows, her throat feeling dry, and presses the keys into the lock. After a few moments of fiddling, the door clicks open. Clementine turns to face her older friend, chewing her lip. The moon is no longer visible in the sky, which is starting to slowly grow lighter as the two survivors find themselves getting closer and closer to the twilight hours. She looks at her older friend, who looks with twinkling eyes at his shorter companion.

"How are you holdin' up?"

"I think I'm okay." she mumbles, fiddling with her gun. "I'm... I'm a little nervous."

"That's okay, it's okay to be nervous. It's a scary thing to do."

"I'm not five." she mumbles, repeating the words from the day before. Just before she leaped from one building to the next. It feels like weeks ago, now. What with them accepting their fate in that battered car, having to kill off the dangerous bandit, Nate, and then trekking through the evening and well into the night to find the first city of Georgia. And now, here they are, at their journey's end.

And the young woman is terrified of what lies within.

"I know, Clem, I know." Luke looks out towards the skyline, bags under his eyes. "Listen, you don't need to be worried, though. I know you're brave enough to do this." Clementine nods slowly, but she isn't convinced. After a moment of deliberating over her choice of words, she looks to her older friend.

"What if I let him down again?" she asks, looking down the stairs sadly while she waits for an answer.

"You won't. I'm sure of it." he promises her, watching as she looks around skittishly.

"You can't be sure that-" she starts, and Luke smiles.

"Look, just work with me a little here." he tries to crack a joke, chuckling ever so slightly. The nineteen year old smiles shakily, the nerves in her gut reaching a fever pitch.

"Okay." Clementine mumbles, looking into his eyes with her golden ones.

"Listen, you're probably the single toughest girl I've ever met. And I mean that honestly."

"Thanks." her gaze goes down to the floor, humbled by the compliment. She thinks hard for a few moments, before glancing up at her older friend.

"D'you want me to come with you? I don't mind, if that's what you want." Clementine considers that for a few moments, looking down at her shoes. She shakes her head slightly, her eyes meeting Luke's brown ones sadly.

"I think I want to do this alone, Luke." she says quietly, looking slowly down the stairs. She strains her ears to try and hear Lee's groans, but no noise comes up the metal staircase.

"Yeah, I figured you would." the farm boy nods, looking down the stairs nervously. "Listen, just for a sec." Clementine looks up at her friend, looking nervous. "Don't do anything stupid. Say what you need to and then..." he indicates her pistol, and the young woman nods quickly. She peeks down the stairs again, her legs feeling like jelly.

"I know." she croaks, before treading down the steps. She shuts her eyes and can picture the last time she was in this claustrophobic stairwell, ten years ago.

 _Clementine climbs the stairs quickly, not looking back. She's crying, scared beyond belief. Lee's gone, her parents are gone... Everything is going wrong. The little girl treads up the last steps, dropping the keys as she tries to unlock the top door._

" _Oh, shoot." she whispers through her tears, stooping and picking the keys up again. She tries a couple, before finding the right key and unlocking the door. She looks over her shoulder, a loud sob coming from her lips. "I'm sorry, Lee."_

Clementine swallows, half way down the stairs. She breathes in and out shakily, sweat and tears both beading down along her cheeks. She's not sure she wants to see Lee, now. She doesn't want to tarnish the memories she has of her ex guardian with thoughts of his rotting corpse reanimated. Every fibre of her being wants her to run, to abandon Lee and run from the jewellery store. But she can't bring herself to let history repeat itself. She's come this far, now. Two years in the making, and here she is.

" _You're strong, Clem. You... You can do anything." Lee whispers, his smile as weak as his voice._

" _But – I – I'm little!" Clementine squeaks, staring up at Lee fearfully.  
_

 _"Doesn't mean nothin'. You're gon' see bad stuff but... It's okay." he truly smiles at her at this point, a warmth that is triumphant against his impending doom. A light that, for a few precious moments, completely shatters the darkness of the moment. But then that moment fades alongside his smile, Clementine bowing her head as she remembers her parents in the street._

Clementine nods, her eyes closed as she finds comfort in the dead man's words.

"It's okay..." she whispers to herself, taking a moment before treading down the last few steps and opening her eyes. A lump in her throat forms, and she stares at the undead form of Lee with tears brimming in her eyes all over again. The security guard's body is still lying in front of her guardian, and she can't help but smile ever so slightly at the thought that no one has disturbed her ex-guardian. The smile fades as she locks eyes with Lee's corpse, which groans hungrily and strains against the blood stained cuffs at the sight of fresh food.

His clothes hang off his clothes hideously, revealing how much weight he must have lost in ten years of rotting away. His navy shirt hangs off of his thin form, looking far too baggy for him. His blood stained khakis hang around his spindly waist, the way a small child's trousers rarely fit onto them when they first start wearing clothes. His arm is almost skeletal, the same as his head. If she squints, the nineteen year old can actually make out the shape of the dead man's bones. His eyes, once full of life and emotion, now roll in his skull. Pale white orbs sit in his sockets, replacing the brown eyes that used to look at the small girl with such warmth and affection. Her attention is drawn to his mouth, which used to tell her so much – words of wisdom, lessons about the world or even just how to spell something – and now they are wordless. He snaps his jaws slowly at the young woman, baring his teeth and snarling. Saliva flies out his mouth as the walker lets out whatever feral sounds it can, desperately trying to sink it's teeth into the young woman before him.

"Hi, Lee." she croaks, looking down at her dead friend.

" _Hey." Lee murmurs, looking at the dead walker for a half moment before smiling weakly to the little girl in his care._

She stands just out of his reach, not wanting him to hurt her. She shuts her eyes for a moment, remembering all too well the last time she was here.

" _My parents... It's so horrible!" Clementine weeps, looking down at the floor.  
_

 _"I – I can't imagine, sweet pea." Lee croaks, staring at her sadly.  
_

 _"And now... You? Please! Please, don't be one of them! Please don't become a walker!"  
_

 _"There's only one thing you can do... You know that."  
_

 _"I don't know if I can." she whimpers, looking at the gun for a moment. Lee thinks for a couple of moments, before bowing his head and sighing.  
_

 _"You can leave me. It's okay." he breathes out the last words, sounding a little scared.  
_

 _"You'll be just like them!" Clementine begs, looking towards the shutter door.  
_

 _"It's okay. It won't be me." he looks determined, now. Resigned to his fate, almost relaxed into it.  
_

 _"Lee..." her voice trails off, the word dying in her throat. There's a delicate silence that neither party wants to break. But one of them has to, or the little girl will be in_ _very real danger._

 _"Clem, it's time to go. You gotta get outta here." he urges her weakly, looking exhausted.  
_

 _"You - You can come with me!" the nine year old girl squeaks, looking eager through her tears. Lee shakes his head slowly, looking sadly at the weeping girl._

" _No, honey, I can't. It's okay." he reassures her weakly.  
_

 _"Please..." she begs him, desperate for her friend to survive this horrible night.  
_

 _"You have to go, now." he emphasises the last word of the sentence, his eyes widening._

Just like all those years ago, Clementine raises the gun slightly towards Lee with tears in her eyes.

" _Maybe... Maybe... Maybe I shouldn't let you turn."_

The nineteen year old whimpers, slumping against the metal door slowly.

" _I don't want you to have to do that." his voice is as coarse as sand, his eyelids low._

"I'm sorry, Lee." she sounds like a broken woman, watching as his friend strains against the handcuffs with his only remaining arm. His other, hastily amputated, arm wriggles slightly as he strains, and Clementine can't help but notice how slow and exhaustive every movement from the walker seems to be. Clementine lets her eyes run up and down the walker before her, her breath coming out shakily at the sight of the creature that's inhabiting Lee's body. Skin and bone is all that's left of the man she so adored, and even then most the skin is rotting or peeling off. Clementine takes some slow and steady breaths, trying to calm herself down. It turns out to be a fruitless task, the noises Lee makes making the calm she's building crash and burn.  
"I ..." she swallows, considering her words. She had them all planned out when her and Luke had walked towards the fire exit but, now that she's here, none come to mind. "I missed you." she starts, somewhat lamely, and she finds herself laughing slightly nervously. She hiccups, tears rolling down her blood stained face.

" _I'll miss you." he croaks, looking her sadly in her golden eyes. She bows her blood speckled face for a moment, whimpering at the thought of leaving Lee to die. She looks back up at him.  
_

 _"Me, too." she promises, nodding slightly as she says those words._

She swallows again, the lump not disappearing no matter how hard she tries to make it fade. She looks over her shoulder, up the stairs, and for a half second she swears she sees Luke peering down at her. The next moment, however, he's not there. She should probably speed this up, Luke's clearly worrying about her doing something stupid.

Clementine turns her attention back to her dead friend, watching as he leans toward her. The young woman shuffles backwards, keeping herself out of his reach as she watches him strain against his cuffs again. The metal restraints rattle ominously, but after a moment the walker recedes slightly. The nineteen year old watches her ex-guardian with wide eyes, drinking in his every movement with a horrified raptness. She's never sat so close to a walker for so close for so long, it's awe inspiring in a sick way. The way they stare, so lifelessly yet somehow so full of hunger and anger, at their victims. The low growl that's always in the back of their throat, even when they're not moaning and groaning in their hungry way. She wishes that Lee will somehow recognise her, and pull her into a hug and whisper in her ear how it's all okay. She knows that it's a hopeless wish, however. Lee isn't coming back – he's gone. He was gone ten years ago, and that won't change. All she can do now is send him on his way, and hope that there's something better waiting for him in a next life of sorts.

She closes her eyes, trying to think of the happiest time her and Lee ever shared together that she can before what happens next.

" _Hey, Clem. You like the swing?" Lee asks warmly, crouching in front of her._

" _Yeah, it looks fun! Thanks for fixing it!" Clementine looks delightedly at her friend, beaming from ear to ear.  
_

 _"You're welcome." the thirty seven year old ex-teacher smiles warmly, regarding the rope he tied to the tree with a somewhat worried eye.  
_

 _"Will you push me on it?" she asks, a little nervously. Maybe Lee will have something else to do.  
_

 _"Sure, happy to push you on the swing."_

The nineteen year old smiles serenely, trying to picture everything about that time at the Saint John's Dairy perfectly. The sun shining high above them, the chirping of the birds in the trees, the somewhat reassuring sounds of the swing creaking softly in the wind. Her friend pushing her on the swing, smiling at the giggles the little girl makes as she swings a little higher with each passing swing. It's the closest to complete and total bliss the young woman has experienced since the dead started to walk among the living. She'd give anything to spend a few more minutes on the swing with Lee, to hear his reassuring words of wisdom.

" _How are you holding up, Clementine?" Lee asks, his voice gentle.  
_

 _"I'm okay, I guess. Are you okay?" she asks, turning to look at her friend.  
_

 _"Yeah, I'm just a little worried about Mark." he sounds tired, a little stressed.  
_

 _"Is Mark going to be okay?" she asks, worried.  
_

 _"He got lucky out there. It could have been a lot worse." Lee assures her quietly, smiling._

" _Are you going to find the people who hurt Mark?" Clementine looks up at Lee with her wide eyes, worried that Lee is going to get seriously injured on his scouting run._

 _"We have to make sure they don't hurt anyone else."_

 _"Be careful. I want you to stay lucky, too." she almost whispers. Lee chuckles ever so slightly._

" _Ever since I met you I've had good luck. So don't worry."_

How wrong Lee had been. The small child hadn't brought him good luck, she had lead him to his death. Clementine opens her eyes, her forearms propped up on her legs as she regards her fallen comrade. _Fallen, but never forsaken._ The statue Luke and Clementine had stumbled upon after escaping Carver's compound rings especially true for the nineteen year old now. She regards her mentor with a tired air about her, tears still running down her cheeks as the walker stretches towards her. She shakes her head sadly, lowering her pistol slightly.

" _There's only one thing you can do. You know that."_ Lee's words echo in the woman's mind, making more tears spill out her golden eyes.

"I know, Lee." she twists the pistol in her grip, glancing down at the loaded handgun.

She feels angry, towards herself. She's killed walkers before, probably hundreds at this point. Maybe even thousands, she's lost count. And yet the nineteen year old can't even bring herself to point a gun at this one. Clementine tightens her grip on the handgun, staring up at the ceiling miserably. The young woman shuts her eyes again, trying to calm herself. She can't help but wonder if Luke felt this terrible when he shot Alvin as a walker, after he had mauled Nick all those years ago. But he hadn't hesitated. Just swung the gun up, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger.

She raises the gun again, a sob escaping her lips, shaking from head to foot.

"I'm … I'm so sorry, Lee..."

 _"No. Don't worry. All right... I'll miss you." tears spill out his eyes as he whispers those words, looking up at his young companion sadly. He looks guilty, as if he feels bad for what's going to happen next._

Clementine whimpers, disengaging the safety of the handgun and levelling it at the man's head.

"Me, too." she chokes out.

 _Clementine leans forwards, placing her hand in his remaining one. Lee wraps his long fingers around her small, warm hand and gives it a little squeeze. Clementine looks up staring up at her friend. He's looking down at their conjoined hands for a few moments, before moving his gaze so that he's staring towards the escape. She does her best to remember every single inch of his face – every crease on his forehead, the way his eyebrows are raised in relaxation, his chocolate brown eyes and the tired look on his face from his lips being tugged down. Clementine retracts her hand slowly and stands up, looking towards the door._

" _Don't go." she stands slowly and starts to walk backwards, away from Lee. He watches her go backwards, looking truly miserable, before flitting his eyes to the shutter door. The walkers outside groan loudly,, making the ex-teacher let out a shuddering breath. His eyelids hang low, his chest rising and falling slowly with deep, slow breaths._

" _Nn..." the nine year old whimpers, begging with her eyes for her guardian to get up and run away with her. He swivels his misted over eyes to her, his breathing getting slower and deeper. Lee lets out a shaky breath as he slumps against the radiator. Clementine whimpers, looking back at her now dead friend. She doesn't want to see him turn, and hastily unlocks the door. Lee remains completely still and silent as she climbs the stairwell, escaping the jewellery store before Lee even begins to turn._

The young woman keeps the gun levelled at the man's head, crying silently. The heavy handgun rattles in her hands, the slide, loose from years of use, clicking rhythmically against the body of the pistol. She looks down at her gun for a long couple of seconds, before slowly looking back to her fallen friend. The walker groans, clutching towards the young woman's ankle. She shakes her head slightly, shuffling back so she's completely out of his grasp.

She looks around the store, her stomach flipping at the display case Lee had crashed through as they made their way to the door.

" _Gah!" he gasps in pain, his remaining arm smashing into the display case as the glass shatters.  
_

 _"I got you! You – You can lean on me if you have to!"_

Clementine runs her eyes back to the shutter doors. She remembers vividly the terror she felt when they first arrived, when she thought for a moment that her guardian may also be dead alongside her parents. She stares at the spot Lee had woken up, smiling weakly as she remembers the relief that had blossomed in her chest when her friend had come to.

" _Lee! Please don't be dead!" she shakes him desperately, staring at his face. "Please, no!" Lee's eyes open slowly and he looks around the store. "Lee! I was so scared! I – I thought you left me. I – I … I saw my parents." she whimpers the last words.  
_

 _"Come here, sweet pea." Lee breathes, pulling her close with his remaining arm. Clementine lays her head on his chest and lets tears roll down her cheeks._

" _They're dead. They really are!"_

" _Clementine, we have to get out of here as fast as we can." she sees his eyes truly for the first time, and sees his eyes are yellowing. He looks really sick._

" _We can't! There's thousands of them outside!" she wails, pointing at the shutter doors. Lee shakes his head, bracing himself for his crazy plan._

" _We'll push through... I'll protect you." he wheezes, looking up to her tiredly._

" _No, no, that's crazy! I saved you, we're safe here, I locked us in!"_

She had doomed Lee at this point. This room had become his grave, because of her actions. If she hadn't locked the door, the two could have maybe escaped out the city. But her shoulders slump when she remembers how weak Lee was when he woke up, barely able to move as life slowly but surely left him.

" _Pull on three... One... Two... Three!"_

His grunts of exertion, her cries of determination. Both noises mingling with the walkers hungry snarls, groans and moans outside the store. No matter how hard the two had tried, however, the door had firmly remained locked. After a few seconds of trying, the two had relented. Clementine had taken a few seconds to catch her breath, while Lee coughed and wheezed. Evidently, the effort of trying to force the shutter open had exhausted the dying man.

" _Clementine... Honey."_

The utter defeat in the man's voice as she turned to face him, head tilted to one side. She was expecting bad news, just by the way he spoke. The little nine year old would never have been able to guess the news would be _that_ bad. Not after she just lost her parents.

" _My arm is gone, because I cut it off." Lee whispers, his eyes staring into hers. Clementine blanches.  
_

 _"Why would you do that?" she breathes back, shaking from head to foot.  
_

 _"Because I was bitten, Clem." Lee croaks out the words, shutting his eyes for a moment._

Her world had started to collapse around her after that. She refused to accept that. It had seemed impossible. Lee, get bitten? She had childishly assumed he would always be around, that he would beat the odds and live forever against the walkers by her side. And yet there he was, telling her that idea would never come to fruition. She had denied it at first, whipping her head from side to side.

" _No... Please no... That's not true!" she whimpers, raising her hands in front of her mouth._

" _Yes, Clem, it is." he corrects her, regarding her apologetically with wide eyes._

She had started to cry, then. Not able to handle all the stress and fear she was feeling, the misery in her heart almost a crushing sensation throughout her entire body. Lee had watched her sadly for a few moments before speaking. She had tried her best to stop crying as Lee talked, wanting to hear what he needed to say.

" _I'm sorry, Clementine, I'm supposed to take care of you. I can't, now."_

" _I know!" she wails, staring up at the man.  
_

 _"But you're going to be okay. You are going to be okay. We just have to think, and work together."_

Clementine and Lee had found themselves a way out, at the back of the store, and together they had limped to the back of the store. Lee had collapsed next to the radiator he's now cuffed to after that, however, letting out a relieved moan as he relaxes against the wall. Clementine had raced after him, looking back and forth between him and the door. They were so close to freedom, Lee just had to push a little further.

 _"Get up, Lee! The door is right here!" she begs him, tears racing down her cheeks._

 _"Clem... I can't move. This is it for me, here." Lee breathes. He looks centuries old in his exhaustion.  
_

 _"Please! Please! Just - Just try to get up!" Clementine weeps, her eyes widening even further.  
_

 _"I can't." the ex-teacher croaks, looking so guilty.  
_

 _"You have to!" she wails._

But he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't stand up again. That corner in the store had become his de facto grave. Lee had just sat in the corner, staring up at the little girl sadly as he helped her figure a way out the store. Even as he slowly died in the corner of the store, his only task was to keep the little girl in his care as safe as he could. The young woman raises her eyes to the ceiling as she tries to remember every word he said before he died. Every last word. She smiles weakly, content she can, but the smile fades as she realises what's to come.

Clementine turns her focus back to Lee, watching as he moans and snarls quietly. He looks starved, different than almost every other walker she's encountered. Usually, the walkers are well fed from a steady supply of foolish survivors or bandits, either of which provide good sustenance for the ever hungry monsters. The walker before her has been denied of that sustenance for ten years, however, and the young woman can't help but feel somewhat sorry for her old friend. He deserves better than starving as a walker for a decade in a worn down jewellery store.

"I should have come sooner, Lee..." Clementine whispers, her tears subsiding. "I'm really sorry."

The young woman sits back against the door fully, resting her back against the solid door frame. She locks eyes with the walker, checking the aim on her pistol before raising it fully again. The nineteen year old sighs weakly as she shuts her eyes, breathing slowly. After a few seconds of hesitation, she pulls the trigger of the handgun. The gun lets off a near deafening crack in the small store, making her ears ring as the bullet is discharged.

" _My hands hurt, and my ears have noise in them. Like..." she imitates the noise as best she can, shaking her head slightly. Lee chuckles at that, tilting his head._

" _Don't worry, that's normal. You'll get used to it, Clem." he tells her gently, sitting next to her as the train rattles along the tracks towards Savannah._

A weak sob escapes her lips as she hears the walker crash backwards into the wall. Blood spurts in every direction as Lee collapses against the radiator, slumping against the radiator with a loud clanging from his handcuffs colliding firmly with the radiator. The nineteen year old opens her eyes slowly, looking at the dead form of Lee with a sinking stomach. She drinks in the sight for a few seconds, before slowly putting her head in her hands and lets the grim fact set in.

Lee's gone, forever. Even if a cure is made, there's now no chance of him ever coming back. But then there isn't a cure for death, is there? And there never will be, at least not with the world the way it is now. Clementine covers her eyes, not moving from her position in the store. The silence within the store is deafening in it's own way. She can only hear her slow breathing as she calms herself down, the adrenaline from pulling the trigger on her gun fading. The herd from before is still a ways away, and now that Lee has suffered his second death he is no longer making any noise.

Clementine moves her hands from her face sadly, looking at Lee's walker form for a few long moments before standing up slowly. She holds the picture in her jacket pocket firmly, not wanting to forget about the Lee she cared about. The Lee that died ten years ago, before his reanimation. She wants to leave, but for the second time that night she can't find the ability to move. Her eyes travel back to Lee, and she watches his unmoving corpse with wide, sad eyes.

She knows she missed him, on the way to Savannah. But it's only now that he's been put down that she realises how _much_ she'll miss him, now that he's gone for good. At the same time, however, Clementine finds herself smiling slightly that she did right by her old friend. There's no chance of him suffering, now. She finds herself the calmest she's been in years, as if she's just woken up from a deep sleep.

" _Part of what's growing up is doing what's best for the people you care about..."_

The nineteen year old opens her eyes, her heart beating normally as she turns away from the dead corpse of Lee. She feels a few tears run down her cheeks, yet she feels almost no sadness as she treads out the jewellery store main room. She closes the door leading to the back room behind her, and locks it for old time's sake. She smiles at Lee through the broken glass pane one more time, before turning away from him for good and treading towards the stairs, locking the door leading to the stairs behind her. Clementine doesn't dare look back, not wanting to break down into a mess of tears and emotion. The nineteen year old understands that they're still in danger, Savannah a city that is still filled with the dead ten years later, and that there will be time to reflect on the events of the day some other time.

Clementine emerges into the light of the early morning, looking to her older friend with a watery smile.

"You okay, Clem?" Luke asks quietly. She nods, looking towards the horizon.

"We should get out of Savannah." the nineteen year old advises gently. "The herd might have heard the gunshot. I don't want to be around to find out."

"Nah, me neither." the farm boy agrees with a slight grin. "Know the way out?"

"I know _a_ way out." Clementine tells her older friend, leading the way down the fire escape and out towards the city limits. Luke walks next to her, and for a few minutes neither party speaks.

"Where does this lead, again?" he asks, hoping to get her to talk. To his surprise, however, she speaks with a clear and calm voice. A faint smile is on her face, looking content.

"Out the city, to the countryside." she answers, looking across at Luke.

"Countryside, eh? Not a bad idea, Clem." he returns her smile, praising her ingenuity.

"Christa thought so, too." the young woman's features don't fall as she mentions her lost friend, seemingly in a good mood. "Less people there, I guess."

"Easier to hear walkers, too." Luke adds, eager to maintain the good mood his friend seems to be in.

"Right." she nods slightly as the two reach a stamped in fence. "It's over here, I think."

"What're we waitin' for?" Luke smiles, treading over the fence next to her. The two lapse into silence, the young woman walking slightly ahead. She rolls her shoulders, her backpack digging into them. Her shotgun bounces against her leg rhythmically, and the nineteen year old grimaces slightly. She holsters the pistol she used to put Lee down and swings her shotgun off it's strap, holding it in both hands.

"Need me to hold anythin'?"

"No, I think I got it." Clementine replies quietly, rolling her shoulders again. "It's been a long day."

"It has. Been up for a full day, nearly." he squints at the rising sun, waiting for a moment while he tries to ascertain the time. "Yeah, pretty much."

The two survivor's have never pulled all nighters, when they can help it. As far as Clementine is aware, this is the first time in the last five years both of them have stayed up all night to travel.

"I can't wait to catch some sleep." she mumbles. Her tired facial expression gives way to one stifling a laugh. "I'll have to wait for about nine hours while you set up the tent, though." Luke laughs at that, humoured by his friend's honest – if maybe a little hurtful - observation.

"Jeez, way to hit me where it hurts." he chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry." she sounds genuine as she looks at her friend. "Really."

There's a pause for a few moments as the two mantle yet another fence.

Clementine clears her throat, a tired grin on her face as her golden eyes meet his brown ones.

"I meant five hours."

* * *

In the warm sunrise, the two figures tread to the top of the hill before them. The top of the hill gives way to a view of nothing but more and more hills. The view, illuminated by the bathing yellow rays from the sun, is staggering for the two. The landscape is completely awe inspiring in the early morning air, as if the heavens have opened up and lies before the two weary travellers for the taking. Clementine looks over her shoulder, at the now distant city of Savannah, and smiles weakly. She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand, pre-emptively clearing the tears she can feel brimming in her eyes.

Lee's gone now, of course. But he's in a better place, and this is better for everyone involved. The young woman climbs neatly over the last fence, her older friend mirroring the action. Clementine looks down, realising with a little jolt that this is where she sat after the first time she left Savannah. Ten years ago.

 _Clementine sits miserably on the log, wiping her eyes as tears run down her cheeks._

" _Lee..." she squeaks, staring at the rising sun sadly. He's probably turned by now, trying to find something to devour. She looks down, her attention drawn by two spent shell casings. The nine year old scoops up one of the shells and tries to fit it into the gun, not understanding what the casing is. She frowns, realising it's too big, and drops the spent shotgun shell. Her eyes widen in shock when she sees two figures up on the horizon._

"Clem?" Luke draws her out of her trance, making her look away from the gnarled log.

"Sorry. I was just remembering something." she smiles weakly, looking towards the sun rise.

"It's fine, you don't need to be sorry." the farm boy assures his young companion, before looking out into the horizon. "We need a place to sleep."

"Yeah, that sounds good." she nods in assent, rubbing her eyes to clear them.

"Any ideas?" the thirty four year old asks tiredly, yawning behind a closed fist.

"I think there's a forest not too far from here." Clementine mumbles. "It's been so long, though."

"We'll find somethin'." Luke smiles at his young friend, who smiles back tiredly.

"Yeah, there's definitely something." she agrees, exhausted. Her eyes droop slightly, those golden orbs obscured by her lowered eyelids.

"Stay with me, kiddo." the farm boy chuckles. "You ain't sleepin' yet."

"'m not even tired." she mumbles, clearly lying through her teeth.

"Sure, you're not." her friend decides to humour the comment, lapsing into silence as they wander down the hills before them. Luke looks across at his friend, his eyes widening at the exhaustion which lines every part of her features. From her drooping eyes to her slightly slouched posture, it all reeks of someone who wants nothing more than to go to sleep and not wake up for a week or two.

Clementine feels a cacophonous wave of exhaustion crash over her, the euphoria from helping Lee on his way slowly but surely fading as she walks along. It's taking all of her effort just to keep her eyes open at this point, let alone walk in a straight line. After bumping into her older friend for the third time in as many seconds, the friend in question looks at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Doin' that on purpose, Clem?" he teases, nudging her in the ribs.

"N – No." she mumbles, yawning loudly again.

"Knew you were tired." he sounds a little smug about it, and the nineteen year old pouts.

"'m n't." she mumbles, only pronouncing the consonants of her words now.

Of course, it would be borderline insanity if she wasn't. Staying wide away for a full twenty four hours, running from rotting corpses and bloodthirsty bandits is enough to tucker out even the most hardy of survivors. Even without such exerting activities, Clementine would have probably been exhausted by this point anyway. Luke just chuckles at his friend's bullheadedness, shaking his head slightly as he starts to stride up yet another tall mound. The young woman walks sluggishly next to him, rubbing her eyes almost constantly now.

"We'll stop and get some rest in a minute, okay? Just lookin' for somewhere walkers can't slip up on us." Clementine mumbles something unintelligible in response, and the farm boy can't resist but laugh. "Exactly, Clem. Just like you said."

A whirlwind is in Clementine's mind, confusing thoughts being conjured by her sleep deprived mind. Every time she tries to make sense of one, however, it becomes a blur and then disappears. The thought of Lee is the only one that makes sense to her, a faint smile crossing her lips every time the name runs through her mind. Her eyes shutter for a moment, and before she knows it Luke has his arm around her and is supporting her weight. Clementine lets out a few slow breathes, before opening her eyes and looking towards her older friend, who's hefting her up the hill almost effortlessly. Even with her backpack full of supplies, the farm boy doesn't seem to have any issues lifting the young woman.

"You need to eat more, Clem." Luke observes drily, looking at his young friend. Her eyelids droop again, all of the adrenaline from the last couple of hours flooding from her system.

"'m n't h'ngry." she mumbles, shutting her eyes again.

"Not now." he chuckles, slightly bemused from the woman's child like behaviour. Clementine mumbles her way into silence, Luke making noises of ascension like 'mmm' and 'aah' every few seconds to humour his young friend.

The farm boy can't help but worry just a little about his friend, though. He knows she's probably only acting like this because she's exhausted, but he can't shake the feeling that it's something to do with Lee. It can't have been easy, descending into that horrible looking store and shooting her first friend she made during all this. The ex-teacher had meant a lot to the kid, he knows that better than most. How when they first met, she used to tell him all about the man who took care of her.

" _He was looking for help in my house. His leg was bleeding, because he was in a car crash."  
_

 _"You trusted him, just like that?" Luke asks, eyebrows raised as he listens to the eleven year old talk.  
_

 _"Not at first." she admits slowly, looking a little sad about that. "He seemed nice but I didn't know what to do. Everything was going bad, and he was the only person I'd seen since it all went wrong that was nice. We talked for a bit and then a walker attacked him. I gave him a hammer and he used it to kill the walker."  
_

 _"Gee, that must've been kinda scary to see." Luke sympathises with the small child, who nods slowly in agreement.  
_

 _"Uh-huh. After I rescued him we started travelling together, and I started to like him. And then he saved my life at his parent's drug store. I think I started to trust him after that."_

" _He sounds like uh – Sounds like we was a good guy."  
_

 _"He was." she mumbles with a little smile. "One of the best."_

Luke looks over, and sees his friend has her eyes closed fully. She's breathing slowly, holding her shotgun loosely in her hand. Her finger is hooked near the trigger, the safety enabled to prevent it from firing off and alerting walkers.

"Clem? C'mon, help me out here." the farm boy requests of her gently, giving her a little shake. She doesn't respond verbally, just a soft whine of frustration as she opens her eyes slowly. "C'mon, just a little further."

"Tired." she barely whispers, looking into her friend's brown eyes.

"Let's stop for a rest, then. You look like you could use it, kiddo."

"Mm-hmm." Clementine hums, letting her only friend help her to the floor. She tries her best to wake herself up, watching the sun rise through sleep ridden eyes.

"Nice view, huh?"

"Yeah, like last time." she says quietly, blinking as she opens her eyes fully.

"You came through here before, then?"

"Mmm, after I left Lee."

"Seems fittin' that we're here now then, huh?"

"Mm-hmm." she repeats the noise, rubbing her eyes. She digs the fingers of her left hand into the dirt around them while clearing her eyes with her right.

There's a pleasant silence between the two as the younger traveller wakes herself up, using some of her bottled water to freshen up her face. Clementine doesn't talk as she does so, focussing on waking herself up enough to find a place to properly rest for the night. No, morning. She feels a little awkward for making them stop, but the farm boy she's travelling with doesn't seem to mind. So the two sit in silence for a little while, relaxing into their calm surroundings. The young woman clears her throat after a few minutes of watching the sun rise, looking at Luke.

"Thank you."

"Not a problem, you looked like you could use the -"

"No, I mean ..." the nineteen year old looks just a little flustered, now. "I mean, thank you for helping me get back to Savannah. I dunno if I would've made it back without you."

"Nah, you prob'ly would've."

"You didn't have to come, though." she mumbles shyly. "But you did."

"You'd do the same for me, Clem. Honestly, least I could do."

"Well, uhm. Thanks, Luke. It means a lot to me." Clementine looks uncomfortable. Words aren't exactly her forte, and so having to explain a tender moment like this to her only friend makes her more than a little uneasy. She clears her throat, looking awkward, and finishes her thoughts quickly. "So, uh, thanks, I guess."

"Any time." he smiles. His face falls, almost comically, and he quickly looks to rectify his words. "Well, not _any_ time. Crossin' America's a difficult thing -"

"I know what you meant." the nineteen year old says with a slight smile, looking a little more comfortable for getting those words out in the open.

"Ah, great, cool." he nods, looking away.

There's a comfortable pause again, neither party having much to say.

"Ready to move? You look more awake."

"Yeah, I should be good." Clementine smiles, standing slowly. "I'll let you know if I need a break."

"Be sure to do that, it's really not a problem." the thirty four year old stands. He peers into the distance. "Now, I think – _oof!_ " he's cut off as the nineteen year old woman hugs him, hard. Luke hugs her back after a moment, patting her back.

"Thank you." she mumbles again, smiling. Luke smiles, looking toward the sun rise as he holds his friend close.

"You're welcome, Clem. Really."

* * *

A/N :

So, uhm. I'm totally not sad to say "goodbye" to this story or anything! N - Not at all! *sniffles*

Thank you all SO much for reading. Really, truly. It's made the last couple of weeks absolutely fly by, writing for you all, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now, the announcement I kept mentioning on my profile!

I am strongly considering writing a sequel. _BUT_ I'm not sure! I have a notepad file filled to the brim with ideas, and several pages of potential intros to the series. I'll let you all know on my profile at some point, but if anyone wants to PM me or leave a review with some encouragement for me. Not that I'm hinting, or anything. No way. I mean...

Okay, I am a _little_ bit! It's difficult to gauge whether a sequel would be wanted by you all, but I will probably be aiming to write it steadily once college starts up again. We'll have to see what happens, I suppose! Please let me know if it's wanted, and I'll let _you_ all know, somehow, if it's going to be written or not! I'll probably be accessible via smoke signal *raises eyebrow intriguingly*

Thank you all again, it's been an absolute pleasure to write for you all. Special thanks to those who have favourited, you're all lovely people and I give you all an internet high five or hug. Or at least I would, if I could.

I'll get back to you all, soon!

\- BHBrowne


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